Collectively, heart and circulatory diseases are the UK’s biggest killers, responsible for 1-in-4 deaths.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) funds over half of all non-commercial UK research into treatments and cures for heart disease, stroke, vascular dementia, and diabetes.

But that’s not enough.

The BHF’s life saving research is solely dependent on public support. If the donations stop, so does the research.

In 2020, we were tasked with finding a new way to communicate the link between the pioneering research that the British Heart Foundation funds and the lifesaving treatments people receive every day.

Our strategy was simple:

SHIFT BHF FROM BEING AN ADVERTISER TO BEING A STORYTELLER AND TELL THE STORIES OF

THE DIFFERENCE THE BHF’S RESEARCH MAKES

We approached a storyteller that was the perfect fit: Channel 4’s award-winning documentary series: 24 Hours In A&E

The show was also a perfect fit with our target audience who were 65% more likely to watch the show, with 50% of all regular viewers either believing in the BHF’s cause or having been personally affected by heart disease.

24 Hours in A&E: Heart Special was a bespoke 60 min show, broadcast in primetime on Channel 4 (the UK’s 2nd biggest commercial channel) in March 2020

Painstakingly made from 100s of hours of emergency room footage, it told the stories of three individuals who were in A&E with serious heart and circulatory conditions.

To promote its broadcast, we negotiated branded promotional airtime on Channel 4 and supported this with a paid social video featuring emotive video cutdowns targeted to key BHF donor audiences.

In addition to the stories in the show itself, in each of its three ad-breaks, we created specially-shot ads featuring the loved ones of patients whose story had been told in the preceding part of the show, alongside a call for donations.

The show itself concluded with footage of each of the patients from the show talking about how vital the BHF’s research work is.

Despite the show airing in Wk1 of the UK’s (first!) COVID-19 lockdown - when there was only one disease on people’s lips - the show shifted perceptions of the BHF and drove a considerable volume of donations:

• 2m viewers tuned in, beating the show’s regular ratings by 18%

• 89% of viewers felt it was linked very clearly with the BHF

• The BHF received 62% more text donations in one night than they typically receive from an entire month of TV fundraising activity – despite the donation ads asking for a higher amount than normal

• 1 in 8 of these supporters then signed up for regular giving - meaning the show left a long-term donation legacy.