Following the success of the award-winning 2006 Measure Up roadshow, which successfully raised awareness of Type 2 diabetes, the charity Diabetes UK has taken to the road again. The 2007 tour will visit an expanded itinerary of 21 UK towns and cities – up from eight last year.

Housed in a distinctive, 10.5 metre magenta exhibition vehicle, the roadshow will offer on-the-spot blood glucose testing by Lloydspharmacy and information and advice from healthcare professionals.  

Anticipating increased visitor numbers, the vehicle now includes three blood glucose testing rooms, compared to just one last year.

Event Marketing Solutions (EMS), which was supplied the vehicle and helped organise the tour, has also provided a new, real-time electronic data capture solution for the tour. Using handheld PDAs, staff will conduct live consumer research about diabetes and Diabetes UK, as well as capturing contact details for those wanting more information.

Increasing data capture is a new objective for 2007 – enabling the charity to communicate ongoing health messages to those targeted.

Launched at the end of August, the 2007 roadshow is again running under the Measure Up banner, highlighting the significance of waist size as a risk factor of Type 2 diabetes.

EMS won a prestigious Institute of Sales Promotion award for its role in the hugely successful 2006 campaign, which reached an estimated 33 million people. The campaign has also been shortlisted for two more field marketing awards.
Keith Austin, managing director of EMS, said: “We are delighted to launch the second year of this important face-to-face campaign and look forward to reaching more people with these vital health messages.”

Meanwhile, Ben Holdstock, senior roadshow organiser at Diabetes UK, had high hopes for the new campaign following the 2006 triumph. “Last year’s results were fantastic,” he said. “With our eye-catching roadshow proving perfect for our awareness-raising campaign.”