Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility or Not for profit/ Pro Bono Programmes

Summary of work

Sepsis needlessly claims 44,000 lives in the UK every year. This high death toll includes over 1,000 children under the age of five, with an additional 10,000 youngsters suffering sepsis and potentially life-altering consequences.

Despite this, sixty-two per cent of people in the UK had no idea what sepsis was and it was only covered by the press on the back of Ombudsman reports or in relation to regional meningitis deaths where it was mentioned by families or at inquests.

The UK Sepsis Trust is a small, relatively new charity with limited resources but ambitious goals. While it was starting to gain some traction, it lacked the support needed to create an impact on a national level. The agency challenged itself to provide a creative, multichannel programme that amplified the charity’s efforts, elevated the serious health issues and achieved widespread media attention reaching parents, healthcare professionals and high-level policy makers.

The agency bolstered a limited budget (£15,000) with pro bono support to execute an integrated campaign delivering media coverage, digital engagement and political acknowledgement - reaching more than 154,885,741- ultimately encouraging the Secretary of State to meet with the UK Sepsis Trust to further discuss a plan of action for the UK.

Judges' comments

This was a well-thought through campaign that was greater than the sum of its parts. Ruder Finn and the UK Sepsis Trust developed a clear strategy, outputs were excellent and they engaged a wide range of different audiences, squeezing value out of each and every element of the campaign and delivered good outcomes.