Client: Sport Relief

Regional PR Campaign for It’s Game On

Every two years the UK goes sport-mad for Sport Relief, inviting the nation to get fit, raise money and change lives. For the 2020 campaign (our third working with them), we were delighted to get stuck in to the regional PR campaigns for the South, South East, East and East Midlands areas of the country to target Sport Relief’s heartland audience of families and convey the message that 50% of Sport Relief grants will go to UK projects.

Sport Relief basketball players having a huddle

Creating stories to tell the local media

Our job was to highlight the amazing charities that Sport Relief funding helps in the UK in each of these regions through digital PR, and to work with the BBC broadcasting team to ensure focus features would be aired on the big night of TV. So, we set up media, and family, friendly activations for the key cities (in Derby, Southampton and Bournemouth) to inspire local people to get involved, and of course raise funds.

Giant rollerskate advertising Roller World. One person is standing in the skate and another leaning on the front.

The activations

We started with Derby Roller World, helping to organise a roller disco fundraiser in half term and promoted it with compelling pre-event photos and a press release encouraging families to come and get their skates on for Sport Relief.  

Children in Sport Relief T-shirts at Flip Out trampoline park doing star jumps.

In Southampton, we got in touch with local trampoline park, Flip Out, and suggested a similar fundraising event during half term. We organised a fun photo shoot with some incredibly talented volunteers. The money raised from the event itself bounced onto the totaliser with an impressive £3,000 for Sport Relief.

In Bournemouth, we decided to take to the water and enlisted the help of local synchronised swimming team the Bournemouth Seagulls to create a routine to the official Sport Relief song, ‘Game On’. They rose to the challenge brilliantly and video we created with an indoor drone.

And at the last minute, we found that Bournemouth University also had a renowned Quidditch team called the Bournemouth Banshees. After a few enquiries they agreed to put on a free-for-locals fundraising taster session.

Bournemouth Banshees Quidditch team posing on the pitch.

A winning campaign

40 pieces of regional PR coverage
19 broadcast interviews secured
26.5 million total reach through PR, broadcast and social media

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH US ON YOUR OWN CAMPAIGN, GET IN TOUCH: HELLO@WEAREBOTTLE.COM