Baby health charity Tommy's appoints Blue State Digital for fundraising campaign

Jun. 17, 2019

Tommy’s, the UK’s largest charity funding research into saving babies’ lives, has appointed values-driven creative and campaigns agency Blue State Digital to support its fundraising events following a competitive pitch process.

The agency will work to help promote Tommy’s biggest fundraising drive, the Splashathon with a campaign focussed on inviting parents to make a splash and raise some cash to fund research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.

The national campaign, created by Blue State, will include much more digital and socially focussed activity than in previous years. As well as PR, print and display ads, Blue State will extend the campaign across social platforms, including finding campaign ambassadors and social media influencers.

The campaign uses characters from Peppa Pig to appeal to children and their parents, while a ‘Little Splasher’ quiz will invite parents to complete questions to find out which swimming style their little one adopts. A Facebook messenger bot will allow audiences taking part to ask questions relating to the quiz in advance of the event. The agency will also create video content and produce a digital toolkit for all corporate partners.

The event, which takes place on 24th June, runs in partnership with parent and child group Water Babies. It will be bigger than ever in 2019, with the aim of raising more than £1 million.

The appointment brings another charity name onto the Blue State roster. The agency already works on some of the biggest challenges we face today for organisations such as HOPE not Hate, Equality and Human Rights Commission, International Rescue Committee, UNICEF and Freedom to Marry.

Siobhan Gray, head of projects, marketing and fundraising at Tommy’s said:

“So many parents are affected by baby loss, and it’s still shocking that even today, one in four families lose a baby during pregnancy and birth. So our fundraisers are a way of making a big difference for those affected. Our ambitious targets for 2019 mean that we wanted to work with an agency that really understands the charity sector and can handle digitally focussed, integrated campaigns. The amount of money we are hoping to raise this year has the power to make a huge impact - our target of £1 million for the event will be enough to run the Tommy’s National Miscarriage Research Centre, the largest of its kind in Europe, for three years.”

 

Hannah Johnson, managing director, Blue State Digital, added:

“Tommy’s is a charity that makes a huge difference, supporting parents who lose babies or whose babies are born too soon - while funding research, providing first-rate information to parents, and running campaigns behind the scenes. From our fundraising work for charities such as Movember and UNICEF, we know how to tie up digital and integrated marketing approaches to make a real difference and exceed campaign targets. We look forward to helping Tommy’s support many more families in 2019.”