Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with Cancer. Every two minutes Cancer Research UK needs around £2,000 to fund its lifesaving research.

50% of charitable donors give cash. But cash is starting to disappear from the high street – there has been a 14% decline in the usage of cash in 5 years. It’s being replaced by the convenience of contactless cards.

You can’t throw your contactless card in a collection bucket, so we had to find a way to adapt or we’d lose ground in the fight against cancer.

“We believe that we’re changing our supporters’ behaviour, by fast-adapting to an emerging technology. We’re delighted that nearly 70,000 people in total engaged with our campaign, almost 1/6 of all passers-by in the two-week live period. The campaign also drove great brand and supporter engagement online, across PR and social media.

‘Tap to Beat Cancer’ has the potential to change the world of fundraising. If this activity were to be rolled out across our network of shops, it has the potential to generate annual income of over £1.2 million.“ Paul Clarke, Director of Innovation, Cancer Research UK

In a world first, we partnered with a UK media owner to turn four of our shop windows into a donation channel, by installing contactless card readers.

As you pass a Cancer Research UK shop, you see a huge video screen showing a scientist waiting expectantly, with the message ‘Tap this window to beat cancer sooner’.

With a single tap you could donate £2. With a single tap you could help save a life.

Each tap activates the video screen, setting the scientist to work, dramatically showing how every small donation keeps research going and helps beat cancer sooner.

50% of the population will get cancer at some point in their lives. Those that don’t will have friends and family who do, so everyone will be touched by cancer.

This means our vision of beating cancer is relevant to the whole of the UK, so we needed to use a channel that could reach everyone. We decided to focus on the high street.

Our network of shops was the perfect medium. They’re a familiar sight on the high street, in high footfall areas, with the shop windows being a large canvas to attract attention.