Four of the best PR Campaigns with a cause of 2022 so far
There’s nothing I love more than seeing a well thought out consumer PR campaign and a good old fashioned PR stunt, come to life. Even if we’re not the ones orchestrating them. My interests are piqued every time I spot one in motion - particularly when I know just what goes into pulling that off. They’re often spark creative ideas for my own clients and are a great opportunity for a brand to have some fun, grab the attention of their target audience and make a splash within the media or online world as a result.
This year, it’s the PR campaigns with a cause behind them that have really caught my eye. I’m always in awe of charities and social-change enterprises who grab the media's and consumers' attention. These PR campaigns are mostly activated on a budget and need to convey a strong message and call-to-action. To make the impact go even further there has been a trend of strong brand partnerships brought into play, showing that after the impact of Covid, and all that has followed, brands that show heart and align themselves with a strong and relevant cause are what consumers want to see.
Powerful brand and charity partnerships
The secret sauce to a strong cause-related campaign this year have all had these factors:
Powerful and punchy key message
Clear and simple call to action
Strong visuals to bring it all to life
Smart use of brand partnerships to create impact and spread the message further
When this perfect balance is achieved the result is some fantastic PR campaigns that catch people's attention, clearer convey their key message and drive people to act.
The best PR Campaigns with a cause
Here are my top four PR campaigns with a cause this year. They have caught my eye because they are strategic and well executed across both traditional and digital PR and social channels, highlight the power of brand partnerships and all draw on the element of surprise, making them memorable without losing the core message and call-to-action.
London Zoo and Illegal Wildlife Trade
At the moment conservation and climate change campaigns are rightly everywhere and it can be hard to land your message when there are so many out there which can often be contradictory and a little overwhelming.
London Zoo’s recent conservation campaign caught my eye for its simplicity and use of visuals to deliver a powerful message.
The Zoo included a crocodile skin handbag confiscated at an airport by Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) within their crocodile enclosure to raise awareness of the ‘consequences of humans’ on endangered species. The installation was accompanied by a sign highlighting the issues:
“This bag used to be found swimming in slow-moving rivers and streams across South East Asia and Indonesia.
“Over the last 75 years more than 80% of Siamese crocodiles have disappeared. Many, like this one, were hunted for their skin as part of the illegal wildlife trade”.
Simple, impactful. Message delivered.
The PR stunt was so impactful that the images shared went viral with news publications across the world sharing the image as a stark reminder of the impact of illegal animal trade and the important message of protecting wild animals. Visitors to the Zoo also took to their social channels to share the message with huge reach across the globe.
A great example of using an installation to share an important message with passers-by as well as creating content that is newsworthy and eye-catching enough to hit the media and spread awareness further. A great partnership and execution.
Bowel Cancer UK and Andrex
This PR campaign demonstrates the power of partnerships to convey a message and reach new audiences.
Bowel Cancer UK announced an unusual method to get their important messaging around the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer into UK homes by partnering with British toilet paper brand Andrex. The partnership will be printing QR codes on the side of Andrex’s toilet roll packaging with the scannable QR codes displaying the signs and symptoms of the disease for easy detection.
The brand has estimated that through this initiative more than one in three UK households will have access to this information. The campaign was dedicated to Dame Deborah James #bowelbabe, who promoted the campaign and raised millions for bowel cancer research.
Andrex joins M&S as the latest partner in Bowel Cancer UKs #GetOnARoll campaign which is calling for supermarkets to print the symptoms of bowel cancer on loo roll packaging to help raise vital awareness of the key signs of disease.
An unusual route to market but one that promises to be impactful and really drives the issue and messages home.
Minecraft and The National Trust
Now it may seem a surprising partnership but actually the teaming up of educational gaming giant Minecraft and The National Trust makes a lot of sense! The two organisations partnered to virtually recreate castle ruins from around the UK for the ‘In Minecraft: The Wild Update’ campaign. Allowing the British public to reimagine history and create their own virtual versions of some of the oldest landmarks in the UK.
Minecraft YouTuber Grian, Historian Alice Loxton, and Martin Papworth, an Archaeologist from the National Trust, launched the campaign by combining their areas of expertise to create a virtual tour of Corfe Castle in Dorset.
Why is this partnership so magical? Firstly it’s clear that they share a specific target audience for this campaign - parents of children aged 7+ - and also a cause - education. Minecraft is known, loved and played by a vast audience so by combining together they’re able to widen the reach of historical education to children across the UK and engage them in education in a surprising and inventive way.
With a strong story and memorable visuals created through the partnership, clear messaging around the importance of education and understanding of the UKs history, the campaign was perfectly executed to be covered in both traditional and digital media outlets. The campaign was also highly engaged with online and across social media channels, enabling the messaging to reach a wide group of children who might not usually be exposed to history in such a way.
Magical!
British Bee Charity & Netflix
Now, as surprising partnerships go, this one is right up there! To promote Rowan Atkinson-fronted Netflix series Man vs Bee, the British Bee Charity teamed up with Netflix to raise awareness of how to support the plight of native species of British bees.
I love a PR campaign with some serious stats and this one was backed-up by research commissioned by both organisations which showed that more than a third (35%) of Brits saw a huge decline in the bee population around them this summer, with experts believing that as many as seventeen species are extinct. Two thirds (66%) of people in the UK are worried now more than ever about the decline of the bee, however only seven in 10 of people can only identify the bumble bee or the honeybee.
To raise awareness the organisations made a splash with a sculpture stunt and photo opportunity with a series of life-sized ‘Growin Atkinson’ sculptures. The sculptures of actor Rowan Atkinson were filled with pollen and nectar-rich wildflowers and Rowan Atkinson posed amongst them to give the campaign real legs and widespread coverage across national media outlets to ensure the messaging reached as many people as possible.
The call-to-action was strong - The British Bee Charity, alongside Netflix are encouraging people to take positive action this summer by planting as many as 4000 additional square metres of wildflowers across the capital through the giving-away of wildflower seeds.
A serious and important message, a strong call-to-action and a visual and memorable campaign made this one stand out from the crowd.
This post was written by our Co-founder, Laura. If you’re in any need of PR advice or help, do be sure to book a 30-minute discovery call.