Top ten charity campaigns of 2017

What makes the best charity marketing campaigns of 2017 is to stand out and be noticed with a great channel idea and a real audience focus….. 

a new take on a well-established issue, which is always tough to deliver. I hope that you agree, we have some crackers here, in what has been another tough year for many, so I am really pleased with the breadth.

1. ‘We are the Marine Conservation Society’
I don’t think MCS has ever been in my year’s list, which is about to change with this inspirational film, where you can almost taste the salt of the sea and it inspires you to do that bit more for the ‘Big Blue’.

Not resting on their laurels, their full-paged ad appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Monday 11th December, tactically well timed appearing just after final episode of Blue Plane 2.

Already ‘signed’ by an impressive 37 environmental organisations, which MCS managed to achieve in 3 days, the open letter to the UK government puts pressure on them to take responsibility to look after our seas. 

Watch this space closely to see what government action will be taken.



Ok so I am biased, as a Trustee of the Marine Conservation Society for the last 7 years, but in that time it has never made the list!
 
2. Blue Planet 2
You can’t have the BBC in here, can you, with their vast budgets?  That aside, their Blue Planet 2 prequel really did whet the appetite for their new series, which by no means disappointed.



3. United Against Dementia
I do like the concept of stopping for a moment- it reminds me of Remembrance Day. Stop, take a deep breath, now think of others. How hard was that? This film ‘Alzheimer's Society Come Together, Dementia Doesn't care’ asks us to reflect on our similarities, not our differences.



4. WWF’s A Living River
HSBC created an amazing installation to celebrate its work with WWF’s #ALivingRiver and the Yangtze river conservation work funded by the bank.



5. Plaster Pads
Plan International’s Plaster Pads campaign works well in its aims to normalise women’s periods and in a small way, show the world this is normal. It isn’t a big campaign but I like the creative approach.  Hopefully these are small steps towards making people feel comfortable around this subject rather than awkward; Plan’s own research shows 48% of girls currently feel embarrassed about their periods, which is not acceptable.

6. Wrap Up London
Well done Wrap Up London, a clever take on an old theme with this flyer, collecting coats for vulnerable people from homeless to refugees and sufferers of domestic abuse alike.

7. Action for Children - change forever
Action for Children use press ads to show how fostering can change a child’s life forever- clever and thought provoking.

8. Smear for Smear
The share your #SmearForSmear to raise awareness of the importance of smear tests in preventing cervical cancer was a  thoughtful idea, and it had good standout on social media, showing women that prevention is the best cure.

9. Project Emma
If only it wasn’t from a big corporation; ‘Build 2017 Project Emma’, can’t help but make you smile (and cry) in equal measure. This wrist ‘wearable’ helps people suffering with Parkinson’s disease and is the definition of what technology should be all about. Well done Microsoft - hopefully this will move from concept to affordable product soon.

10. WWF Black Friday
WWF’s Black Friday marketing was clever and their email cut through well for me.

From the small ideas to the mighty, each of these charity campaigns are straight to the point and engaging.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy, prosperous and creative 2018.

Giles Robertson is Director of Green Banana Marketing Ltd, a Marketing Society Fellow, Board Member of the Marine Conservation Society and Associate Lecturer of marketing and innovation at Bucks New University.
@gogreenbanana and Linkedin or email [email protected]