The worst of the pandemic’s health measures were easing off.

A devastatingly long moment in time that had dominated our thoughts and airwaves.

But as doors were opening again, purse strings were now drawing closed as economic side-effects were kicking in.

Meanwhile, the water crisis in many developing nations continued unabated.

771 million people globally don’t have access to safe water.

Just a Drop is a small charity organisation who recognises the bigger picture when it comes to water access, but has the all-too-common predicament of limited budgets to help support the change they make in society.

We needed to find a way to raise awareness and funds amidst the global storm around us.

Importantly, we knew this was a common position for the charity.

We needed to create a long-term platform they could routinely rally around and execute upon time and time again in an affordable, but impactful, way.

The Walk to the Well.

The longest Twitter/X thread ever made, chronicles the daily journey of Ann, who undertakes a gruelling 9km trek to collect water.

Taking the freely-available medium, we created an immersive glimpse into the lives of those affected by the crises told over 2000 tweets.

And challenged people to scroll the equivalent distance of one woman’s daily walk for water… on their phones.

The time spent scrolling for water, gave them time to know more about Ann.

Deliberately countering best practice principles, fatigue inevitably sets in, triggering a personalised reply revealing their virtual distance and shareable media to spark a ripple effect for other scrollers to begin their own journey.

The Walk to the Well merges immersive storytelling and technology through a medium we deeply engage with daily, offering an innovative and personalised approach to addressing social issues.

We needed to look deeper than the day’s newspaper headlines.

We are in an era of charity trust in which the value of charity is recognised but doubts persist.

Charity comms walk a fine line between emotional imagery for much-needed exposure and fast-flashing shock tactics to motivate distressful attention.

Yet, evidence suggests campaigns evoking positive emotions like hope and compassion have a potent effect on donors.

Time with Just a Drop and local communities in Kenya revealed the power of positive empathy through individual stories —a life full of aspiration and prosperity, but sacrificed due to the daily task of collecting water.

Leveraging today’s prevalent extensive scrolling habits in which we actively consume content and vicariously experience the worlds of others through a more intimate window, we attempt to foster connection and empathy.

Our goal: transform a social problem into a modern, social-first experience.

The story-thread reached the distances needed to turn the taps.

Rallied voices of celebrities, newspapers and media platforms extended our exposure to 14.7 million people, including Twitter/X generously awarding the charity £100,000 of free platform promotion.

In the first month we raised 5.9x Just a Drop’s monthly average and an overall 25% increase of YTD donations.

We established an evergreen platform for the charity to deploy at strategic points in the fundraising calendar, offering a substantial lifetime value due to the growing committed relationships.

“It’s certainly raised our profile, we’ve had a lot of partners approach us.”

– Brendan Hanlon, Head of Fundraising and Communications

Importantly, the additional funds directly gained gets put to use in the most rewarding way, enough to provide sustainable water to 10+ schools in Kenya – unlocking communities' full potential through the gift of water and begin their walk towards a brighter future.