The Background
We won a three-way pitch to create a brand-new mass-participation fundraising event for the British Heart Foundation, from concept through to an integrated marketing strategy.
The Brief
BHF came armed with early insights into people's appetite for abstinence-based fundraising. The brief was to target women aged 25+, bring in new supporters, and skew the charity's base younger. Above all, it had to be fun. Something people would actually want to sign up for and tell their mates about.
The Work
We created DECHOX, a sponsored challenge to give up chocolate for the whole of March. We built the marketing and media strategy, named and branded the campaign, and produced everything needed for launch and ongoing stewardship.
The visuals had to be funny, eye-catching and a bit cheeky to stand out and drive sign-ups. We ran the photoshoot ourselves, built around the idea of "secret" eating, that sneaky chocolate bar when nobody's watching. We wanted women to see themselves in those guilty, caught-red-handed faces. Alongside the photography, we also tested a second route, "Give Chocolate the Finger," to see which approach landed best.
Offline, we covered the lot: 48 sheets, 6 sheets, washroom ads, press, radio, flyers and merchandise.
We also built a full microsite with a slick sign-up flow linked into the BHF database, using the JustGiving API so participants could get a fundraising page up in seconds.
On digital, we produced Google Display ads, Facebook ads and a spoof cop film for YouTube, plus ran the campaign's Facebook page for the full first year. We also created a full kit of participant collateral, social badges, posters, sponsorship forms, office desk signs, certificates, everything people needed to fundraise and feel part of something.
The Results
Year 1: Over 19,000 sign-ups, 89% of them new supporters. £720,000 raised, more than double the target.
Year 2: Nearly 20,000 sign-ups, 60% repeat participation. 212,207 website hits, a 6% increase in web conversions. £850,000 raised.
Year 3: Average gift up 10%, with a 48% remittance rate. 92% new participants. Over £1,000,000 raised.
