Gas Safe Register has won a prestigious award in recognition of the design of its ‘Silent Killer’ campaign, which piloted in the north west of England between October 2012 and February 2013.

Silent Killer was a design solution to engage and motivate long-term behaviour change in order to persuade people to act to avoid the devastating effects of unsafe gas work, after one in five homes in the North West were found to have unsafe gas work.

Gas Safe Register used a mix of online, local press, outdoor advertising, events and a spoof horror movie trailer to steer gas users towards a ‘Silent Killer’ campaign website, which allowed them to book a gas safety check and sign up for an annual reminder. In just five months, Gas Safe Register achieved a 300% increase in the number of higher risk households having annual gas safety checks – the equivalent of more than 53,000 homes.

Nick Terry, marketing and communications director, said:

The Silent Killer pilot was the first time Gas Safe Register had aimed to persuade people to change their behaviour, rather than simply raise awareness of the dangers of gas work. It was therefore vital that the design was engaging and would encourage people to act; by getting their gas appliances checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Not only did we see more people keeping themselves safe by having annual checks, but there was also an increase in work for engineers in the North West, and we’ve now been recognised for the design of all our hard work, which is really humbling.

Mr Terry continued:

The success of the campaign also helped to shape Gas Safe Register’s future work. We have rolled out the campaign nationwide and are seeing more and more people sign up to protect themselves from unsafe gas work. The support from the industry and gas engineers has been overwhelming and I hope together we can continue to encourage people to stay safe by always using registered engineers.

The ‘Silent Killer’ campaign can be seen by visiting www.staygassafe.co.uk.