Work

Recognising the challenges of traditional public health communications to engage young teens – THINKHOUSE developed a social-first strategy that combines creator partnerships, and behaviour change always-on social content (organic and paid) to reach young people (and their parents) in the spaces, communities and conversations they engage with every day.

Grounded in audience insight, the campaign is built around youth audience segments, a social content strategy and a creator framework designed to make the risks of vaping relevant in the here and now. A carefully curated network of eight TikTok and Instagram creators were selected to reflect the interests, behaviours and identities of different audience groups. Directed by THINKHOUSE, and working within strict safeguarding guidelines, creators are briefed to blend personal insight with evidence-based messaging to challenge social norms, debunk misconceptions and promote the positives of not vaping.

Alongside creator content, THINKHOUSE develops and manages an extensive year-round social media programme, producing platform-native content designed to educate, entertain and sustain engagement over time. This includes the creation of 'Alex', a purpose-built animated character developed to communicate key vaping-prevention messages in a relatable, culturally relevant and non-preachy way.

The campaign also engages parents, teachers, coaches and other influential adults through a dedicated digital content series featuring HSE experts, helping adults navigate conversations with teens about vaping and nicotine use with confidence.

As the HSE's first creator-led campaign, the work demonstrates the power of combining creator marketing with strategic social content to engage audiences that are increasingly difficult to reach through traditional channels. Since launching in March 2026, the campaign has generated over 39.8 million impressions and 13.5K engagements across Meta and TikTok, with engagement rates for creator content thus far hitting percentage rates in the high teens and early twenties.

While the ultimate measure of success is long-term behaviour change and a reduction in youth vaping - with one in three school-aged children in Ireland currently reporting experimentation with e-cigarettes (ESPAD Ireland, 2024) - the campaign is already helping to shift the conversation about vaping and nicotine use.