Case study · Charities & Social Impact
In the summer of 2020, Yorkshire Cancer Research needed a fundraising moment that could work within Covid restrictions. We built its Give It Some Welly campaign around an art installation at Castle Howard and a virtual world record attempt on Yorkshire Day. The record was broken, and the campaign reached 1.28 million people on social.
- 1 Guinness World Record
- 32 pieces of coverage
- 1.28M people reached on social
- 54K social engagements
- Client Yorkshire Cancer Research
- Sector Charity
- Services Creative campaign, press office, social media
- When Summer 2020, ending on Yorkshire Day, 1 August
- Audience People across Yorkshire
- Channels Regional press and radio, social media, live event
What did Yorkshire Cancer Research need?
Yorkshire Cancer Research funds research to help people in Yorkshire avoid, survive and cope with cancer. Give It Some Welly is its annual summer fundraiser.
In 2020 the usual mass events were off. The charity needed a format people could join safely, that still felt like a Yorkshire moment.
- Business objective: raise funds and recruit new supporters for the charity.
- Communication objective: raise awareness of Yorkshire Cancer Research across Yorkshire, and drive engagement and participation in Give It Some Welly over the summer.
What was the insight?
Yorkshire loves its wellies, and it loves Yorkshire Day. People could not gather in a field, but they could all take part at the same time from home.
The idea was a county-wide world record, done from home, launched with a welly installation at one of Yorkshire’s great houses.
What did we do?
- An art installation. We launched the campaign with a welly boot installation in the grounds of Castle Howard, with a media day for photography and interviews.
- Real stories. Brand ambassadors and personal stories showed what the charity’s work means to people in Yorkshire.
- A virtual record attempt. On Yorkshire Day, 1 August 2020, supporters joined a world record attempt from wherever they were.
- Celebrity support. Celebrity partners and a live event on the day extended the reach and encouraged people to join in.
- Regional media and social. We secured coverage across Yorkshire press and radio, and planned the charity’s social content for the campaign.
What did it achieve?
Results by stage of the AMEC evaluation framework, with the source for each figure.
| Stage | Measure | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outputs | Pieces of coverage, including BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Radio York and The Yorkshire Post | 32 | Prohibition coverage log |
| Outputs | People reached on social media | 1.28M | Yorkshire Cancer Research social analytics |
| Out-takes | Social media engagements | 54K | Yorkshire Cancer Research social analytics |
| Outcomes | Guinness World Record | Achieved | Guinness World Records |
| Outcomes | Participants who were new supporters of the charity | 85% | Yorkshire Cancer Research |
What did Yorkshire Cancer Research get from it?
A Yorkshire Day moment in a year with no big events. The world record gave the media a reason to cover the campaign, and 85% of the people who took part were new to the charity.
What did we learn?
- Make it a moment. A single day and a record gave everyone the same goal.
- Design for the restrictions. A virtual format let people join from anywhere in the county.
- What we would do differently. track donations by source from the start, so income can be linked to each part of the campaign.
