A National Appeal at a National Moment: NHS Charities Together
Background
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything changed overnight.
We were already working with NHS Charities Together on their annual NHS Big Tea campaign when the country went into lockdown. That campaign was paused, and the conversation quickly shifted from fundraising events to something far more urgent.
NHS Charities Together, the collective voice for more than 140 NHS charities, needed to launch a national emergency appeal to support NHS staff and volunteers caring for patients on the frontline.
The Brief
There was no time for lengthy planning. The challenge was to create a national fundraising campaign that gave the public a meaningful way to say thank you, while raising an ambitious £100 million to support NHS staff and volunteers.
The creative had to capture the mood of the nation. People desperately wanted to help — they just needed a simple, compelling reason to give.
The Work
The insight was straightforward. Everyone was applauding the NHS. Almost no one was asking a different question: who's looking after them?
Rather than asking NHS staff to speak for themselves, we turned the message around. The campaign spoke directly to the public, using powerful headlines and simple wordplay to shine a light on the many different people working across the NHS, and the support they urgently needed.
We led the creative strategy and creative direction, working with a small trusted team to produce a campaign that was immediate, human, and impossible to ignore.
Sometimes, the strongest fundraising campaigns say less.
Results
The public response was extraordinary:
£150 million raised — exceeding the original £100 million target
A national campaign that gave millions of people a simple way to support NHS staff and volunteers during one of the most challenging periods in modern history
More than a fundraising appeal, it became a moment for the country to stand behind the people who had spent every day standing up for us.