Dear all,

The UK’s National Water Safety Forum is coming together to launch its first ever campaign, Respect The Water, in response the World Health Organisation (WHO) call to ‘do one thing’ to prevent drowning ahead of the second ever United Nations (UN) World Drowning Prevention Day on Monday 25th July.  

The campaign focuses on who to call if you see someone struggling in the water, reminding the public that for inland locations you should call 999 and ask for the Fire and Rescue Service, but for coastal locations you should call 999 and ask for Coastguard.  

As part of this lifesaving campaign, we are releasing a new & impactful water safety advert which will be shown on ITV on World Drowning Prevention Day, together with targeted advertising in high drowning areas using catch up TV, outdoor posters and social media. There will also be a significant PR push to secure media coverage during the campaign to amplify these important messages to the public at the height of summer.   

For a full run through of the campaign you can watch a recorded briefing here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrmHLZo7Z5Q   

 

Key activity  

• Launch of the TV advert on 25 July with adverts to be shown on ITV (Good Morning Britain – 7:40am, ITV Lunchtime News – 1:52pm, ITV Early Evening News – 6:45pm, Coronation Street – Various between 8:15 – 8:45pm)
• ‘Make the right call' outdoor banners at the following confirmed locations: Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool ,Boston/Lincoln, London, Newcastle, Bath , Argyll & Bute, Glasgow, Tenby, Haverfordwest, Conwy  
• A new The Respect the Water website will go live on 25 July, with campaign content and film: https://www.respectthewater.com 
• A national press release will go out on 25th July to highlight the campaign as well as targeted media opportunities. Several spokespeople will be available including NWSF Chair for interviews. The PR will also be available on the NWSF blog.
• Several tweets and social media post are in place from the weekend via the NWSF twitter account – please retweet, share and like (the suggested posts are the end of this post) 
• Approximately 45 locations across the UK will be going blue and tying into the Respect The Water Campaign. Please send us any details or info on any areas you know going blue to info@nationalwatersafety.org.uk 

 

How to get involved in the campaign 

• Use the hashtags #RespectTheWater and #DrowningPrevention Day 
• Over the next few days and into the weekend, post the suggested campaign preview messages (below)
• On the 25^th, directly post a copy or share the social media posts from @NWSFweb  
• Share your going blue images, event images and videos

On behalf of the National Water Safety Forum communications and coordinating groups - we hope that you have a successful World Drowning Prevention Day and look forward to seeing your images and stories.   

 

Social media suggestions 

Suggested messages for NWSF members for the launch of our Respect The Water campaign on 25 July 2022. 

All the campaign content will be available at www.respectthewater.com from this weekend, if you are a social media manger or need access to content earlier please drop a us a line.

These can be tweaked for individual organisations. 

 

22- 24th Leading up to the day 

We’re supporting the @NWSFweb campaign #RespectTheWater which launches on 25 July, World #DrowningPrevention Day. We’ll be sharing lifesaving info about what to do in an emergency

On 25 July it’s World #DrowningPrevention Day and we’ll be supporting the @NWSFweb new campaign #RespectTheWater. Learn more here

Last year, 277 people died from accidental drowning in the UK. This is 277 too many. Support new campaign #RespectTheWater on 25 July World #DrowningPrevention Day

 

25th On the day  

It’s World #DrowningPrevention Day and we’re supporting @NWSFweb new #RespectTheWater  campaign. Watch the film and tell us what you think [inset film link]

On World #DrowningPrevention Day we’re supporting #RespectTheWater from @NWSFweb. Make the right call in an emergency – call 999 [inset link to film on YouTube or NWSF webpage]

As a member of @NWSFweb, we’re supporting their new campaign #RespectTheWater. Watch this film to see what to do in a water emergency [inset link to film on YouTube or NWSF webpage]

Would you know what to do in a water emergency? Watch this film from @NWSFweb campaign #RespectTheWater to find out [inset link to film on YouTube or NWSF webpage]

If you see someone struggling in the water, fight your instincts to get in. Call 999. Ask for Coastguard at the coast, Fire Service inland. #RespectTheWater [insert link to film on YouTube or NWSF webpage]

Days/week after tweets 

Would you know what to do in a water emergency? Watch this film from @NWSFweb campaign #RespectTheWater to find out [inset link to film on YouTube or NWSF webpage]

Make the right call – call 999. Don’t get in the water to save your friends. A rescue for 1 could be a search for 2. #RespectTheWater [insert link to film on YouTube or NWSF webpage]

Xxxxxx was lucky that his Dad called 999 rather than jump in after him when he got into trouble in the sea. Make the right call – call 999 #RespectTheWater [insert link to case study]

 

Softer touch tweets 

The water is a lovely place to spend time, but we all need to know how to stay safe. It’s World #DrowningPrevention Day and we’re supporting #RespectTheWater from @NWSFweb

Docks and reservoirs are lovely places to spend time, but #RespectTheWater and look out for your friends. [inset link to film on YouTube or NWSF webpage]