Brief: CBM, the UK’s leading overseas disability charity, asked 7PR to provide ongoing PR services to raise awareness of the charity. The brief included disseminating information about disaster response at short notice. CBM UK also requested celebrity liaison services to heighten the charity’s profile in the very competitive charitable sector.
Method: 7PR carefully researched CBM’s target audience. We familiarised ourselves with CBM’s work and history then set about pulling together a month by month strategy, updated on a regular basis to incorporate activity from CBM UK. We identified and brought high profile celebrities on board to provide endorsement for projects, to voice BBC Radio 4 charity appeals, and chose one celebrity to visit an overseas sight clinic in person. All celebrities needed to be a perfect match for CBM UK’s target audience in order to increase donations.
Result: We drew on celebrity contacts and secured Downton Abbey actress Dame Penelope Wilton and Gyles Brandreth for BBC Radio 4 appeals and continued donation campaigns. We also secured Joanna Lumley’s support for a fistula campaign, and Sir David Suchet’s support for a sight saving campaign for children. Food writer and celebrity chef Ivor Peters, aka The Urban Rajah, backed the See The Way appeal. Diane Louise Jordan was brought board to act as an Ambassador for CBM. We flew with Diane and her Grandson to a CBM project in Rwanda, where she accompanied a blind young boy on every step of his sight restoration procedure, where double cataracts were removed. Resulting media coverage included HELLO! magazine, radio, TV, and magazines. Diane continues to be extremely generous with her support of CBM. She has voiced a radio advert, done shout outs on her social media, joined the Chief Executive of CBM for a YouTube Q&A fundraising evening, voiced a sight saving advert, fronted a Christmas appeal, and gives many interviews on behalf of the charity. Throughout all campaigns we secured regular coverage in the client’s preferred titles, including publications read by target demographic who donate or might become regular supporters of CBM.
Endorsement: Rosi Jack,Communications Manager at CBM UK: “Since we started working with Kate and Beth from 7PR, they’ve helped us bring new celebrity supporters on board and significantly increased media coverage of our work supporting people with disabilities in the world’s poorest places. Their friendly, creative and flexible approach means that they are a pleasure to work with – we can’t imaging how we ever managed without them”
