In a review of one of our latest projects for the RSPCA, the Felledge Kennels: Dogs on our Doorstep Campaign, in Third Sector, the campaign was awarded maximum points for creativity and delivery - 10 out of 10!
The critique by Stephen Pidgeon concludes: "They don't get much better than this."
To read the whole review, click here.
Kevin Kibble
Last month, as part of a process to introduce a new creative team to the RNLI's work, a few of us were lucky enough to go on an RNLI Hit the Surf day. It's designed to develop beach safety awareness, and is taken around the country and attended by school groups – so there is a big element of fun involved!
The day started off at Sandbanks beach, in Dorset, where we were introduced to the lifeguard team and enjoyed a training session on the meanings of beach safety flags and hazards – interspersed with stories of heroism, stupidity and tragedy. We then took a stroll along the beach and were shown their equipment, which included a comprehensive first aid kit and impressive rescue watercraft. A first-aid demo was given at the end of the morning session.
After lunch on the beach, the real fun began.
Unfortunately, following a frightening incident with a rubber ring and general ineptitude in water, I excused myself from the afternoon activities. Instead I was loaded up with everyone else's cameras and bottled water - no pockets in wetsuits! The warm-up session included a race won by Mark Roper – and afterwards they went into the surf for practise dolphin-diving, body surfing, relay races and tube rescues. It all looked like salty good fun!
To end the day we were given goodie bags of t-shirts and certificates. It was a brilliant day out and I learnt that a lifeguard’s job isn't just about running around looking good in a wetsuit (although, that is an important part of it). They take what they do very seriously and are so dedicated you can't help but respect and admire them.
Speaking of looking good in a wetsuit...
Nice one Mark!
Steve Tse
Hayley Canning
The RSPCA are commonly known for the great work they do with cats and dogs but some people don't realise they care for all animals - including horses.
This week we launched an integrated campaign to help the RSPCA raise funds to cover the cost of rehabilitating the 140 horses, ponies and donkeys rescued from Spindles Farm, near Amersham last year, which you may have read about in the press. The investigation and prosecution has been one of the RSPCA's biggest ever, and the cost of providing care and treatment for the animals has been over £850,000. Officers from World Horse Welfare, Redwings Horse Sanctuary, The Horse Trust, vets and Thames Valley Police worked alongside the RSPCA in very difficult conditions to rescue and care for the surviving animals from the terrible scene.
Our campaign includes DRTV and online as well as press ads and was co-ordinated to tie-in with editorial coverage of the court's verdict and sentencing. All elements of the campaign therefore needed to be turned around at high speed because of the short-term nature of broadcast news.
Like our Biggest Animal Rescue campaign, the DRTV ad is fronted by the RSPCA's Chief Officer Inspectorate Tim Wass. It also features RSPCA Inspector Kirsty Hampton, who was first on the scene at Amersham and who describes how many of the animals had little food or dry bedding and were crammed into pens ankle-deep in their own faeces. Other horses had simply been left to die where they fell.
It's an upsetting case but clearly demonstrates the unique nature of RSPCA and why there will always be a need for them. Why don't you take a look at the ad for yourselves?
Hayley Canning
Are you a recent graduate with a digital related degree? Do you want to earn a good salary while making a positive difference to the world?
Whitewater is looking for a Digital Project Coordinator to help manage the day to day running of an established online software fundraising platform and also to project manage several small to medium sized online projects. You will be mentored to rapidly become a successful online Project Manager.
We are looking for someone who will be capable of dealing with multiple clients and 3rd parties, dealing with a small online projects throughout the client life cycle: from inception to completion, on budget and on time. You will have great interpersonal skills and be able to grow existing client relationships.
Key requirements:
Understanding of the project lifecycle for an online project
Managing client expectations
Excellent documentation skills
Microsoft Office skills (especially Excel and Word)
Experience of managing a schedule and budget for a project or sub-project
Experience of helping to manage an online project on time and on budget.
Passion for and knowledge of both Information Technology and the Internet.
The person:
Great interpersonal skills
A team-worker and communicator who is adaptable and self-motivated
A confident and friendly telephone manner
Good written communication
Someone who can identify risks and problem areas of projects in a timely fashion, resolving them effectively and with the minimum of impact to the project and business
Project management experience in an online environment
Contributing to new business proposals
Ability to conceptualise and translate 'rough client requirements' to 'specific online technical deliverables'
Knowledge of the latest Internet technologies, analytics, marketing, user research as well as visual, content and/or information design
Bonus points for:
2.1 or 1st in a digital related degree
HTML development/programming background
Working experience of PRINCE project management methodology
Digital Agency background
N.B. All graduates with no work experience will need to go through a 1 month trial prior to full time placement.
NO AGENCIES PLEASE - but anyone else who's interested, pleased send your CV to jobs@whitewater.biz
A few weeks ago I went to the Multiple Sclerosis Awards – a celebration of the best in the MS community held by our client the MS Society. It was an inspiring afternoon, hearing about the amazing achievements of people living with MS and the great work of the Society.
The event kicked off with the award for 'MS Inspiration 2009' – won by Anne Dunham. Anne was diagnosed with MS when she was 27 and started to compete in dressage aged 40. She has won 12 golds and countless silver and bronze medals at the Paralympics.
Other winners included 15 year old Patsy Peebles (pictured below with Tain) who picked up the award for Campaign of the Year for her work to raise awareness of teenage MS.
The awards were a fun afternoon out and a chance to drink champagne with the likes of Moira Stewart, but most of all a real reminder of why we do what we do at Whitewater – raise funds for amazing charities like the MS Society.
Alex Wordsworth
The new campaign targets donors who have become frustrated with food aid and the dependency it has created in Africa. FARM-Africa's new proposition fully reflects their dynamic brand and the strength of their simple approach: Help farm Africa. Created by Whitewater, who won the work in a two-way pitch, the campaign carves out a new positioning for FARM-Africa and shows that by investing in agriculture, donors can fight the food crisis and help poor families to feed themselves.
The new recruitment proposition will be tested in inserts, with two creative executions 'Fight hunger. FARM-Africa' and 'This isn't a developing world. This is.' Recognising that FARM-Africa cannot compete with better known development charities, donors will be recruited on a cash ask and provided with evidence of success before being asked to commit to a regular gift. At http://www.farmafrica.org.uk/proof
www.farmafrica.org.uk/proof donors can view videos of families farming effectively.
This is a new approach for FARM-Africa, which has based previous recruitment on the mass market proposition of £27 buys a goat, with Michael Palin as the figurehead. While recruitment was highly successful, evidence suggests that once donors had bought their goat, they felt they had done their bit and didn't go on to support on a more regular basis.
Rachel Beckett, Direct Marketing Manager, FARM-Africa said, "People are increasingly aware that the long term solutions to hunger start with working with communities to build their own skills to feed themselves. This insert campaign recognises the public's understanding that Africa's farmers want to build their own futures not just be the recipients of aid."
Francesca Boardman, Head of Copy at Whitewater said, "In this campaign, FARM-Africa is not afraid to confront the issues surrounding aid head on. They show that Africa's people are not passive helpless victims, but determined people who can feed their families with the right kind of help."
I recently embarked on an exciting project with my client - the development of a five-year strategy for the whole of the fundraising department. Although we mainly work with individual giving, this work included each area in fundraising; corporate, major donor and trust and supporter services, ensuring that the whole department works towards a common goal.
We brought in an independent facilitator who used specialist tools to formulate and run a pre-planned workshop day to generate the strategy. Having run many of these types of workshop before, Brian had an objectiveness that helped to keep the day running as efficiently as possible. At times he was forced to cut through the charity jargon in order that we came up with a clear overarching aim and a set of strategies supporting that aim.
Prior to the workshop, and to make sure that our strategy was soundproof, we conducted a comprehensive overview of the marketplace involving a PEST analysis, competitor and share of voice analysis, in depth audience profiling including pen portraits and an organisational internal analysis.
Each attendee, including the head of fundraising, the fundraising and supporter services managers, and key agency partners were sent the marketplace analysis materials in advance for reading, thus guaranteeing the maximum amount of time at the workshop was given over towards the development of the five-year goal and its supporting strategies.
We held the workshop at an independent conference facility to ensure focus on the task in hand throughout. After a packed agenda we finished with a few well earned drinks and dinner, giving people time to chat and mull over what had been achieved from putting sixteen professionals in a room for a day!
Now all we have to do is put the strategies in place. Onwards and upwards…
Marcella McGing
