The media plan needed to be tightly focused yet versatile based on the dual audiences and limited budget. The alliance with Mail Newspapers allowed us to leverage their huge on- and offline presence to drive engagement, delivering up-to-date, seasonally relevant content that worked to change the public’s perception of Guide Dogs. The partnership with Absolute Radio allowed us to reach individuals living with sight loss. To provide more ubiquity to the campaign, national media was placed in washrooms and roadside panels, and on bus panels regionally. We were also able to retain a regional focus by implementing geo-targeted digital formats.

The campaign was a huge success! Spontaneous awareness of the charity increased by 25% and propensity to donate went up by 9% based upon 2013’s figures.

Amongst Daily Mail readers, where most of the partnership activity was focused, donations increased by 17%, with almost a third intending to donate within the next 12 months. Overall, the Guide Dogs charity saw a 16% increase in fundraising income in 2014.

Crucially, we closed the perception gap among readers who recalled the advertising, with a 33% increase in claims that they better understood the mission of the Guide Dogs charity.