Can a Lidl advert help racing communicate its welfare message?

Budget supermarket Lidl was held up as an example to racing of how effective positive communication could change public attitudes to a product.

A more impactful communication strategy from racing, including the direct confrontation of myths around horse welfare, could assist the sport in breaking down perceptions and stereotypes, which the Horse Welfare Board (HWB) outlined were often “ingrained, historical perceptions” and not reflective of modern situations.

The “Surprises” advertising campaign run by German discount supermarket Lidl, which had previously struggled with public perception, was put forward by the HWB as a good template for how views could be altered on a wider scale.

The HWB noted the Lidl campaign made good use of “comment and testimonial from real customers”, contained “brave mythbusting” by confronting negativity about the brand and taking people behind the scenes to debunk preconceived views, and used a “strong, unifying message” on social media with the inclusion of the #LidlSurprises hashtag.

The HWB made communication, alongside better data gathering and analysis, one of the key points for racing being able to make positive strides with the public, politicians and within the sport on welfare.

In its strategy report, it added: “Every interaction on welfare is an opportunity to surprise people, to dispel a myth, or to change someone’s mind. In every interaction on welfare, we need to be inspiring positive change in attitudes, not simply seeking to make a difficult conversation go away.”

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