Mercy Ships: A force for global good

Touching the lives of people in great need, robust digital fundraising campaign snags accolades

Our long-time partner Mercy Ships UK is a top three finalist for a 2020 PRWeek Purpose Award for Best Fundraising Campaign for a charity or nongovernmental organization. The award recognizes organizations that use creative ideas to further positive causes.

Worldwide, 5 billion people lack access to safe, affordable, timely surgery. For more than 40 years, Mercy Ships has provided free surgeries for people in great need, through state of the art hospital ships that are staffed by volunteer medical professionals from around the world. In addition to providing free surgeries, Mercy Ships trains local doctors and medical professionals in the communities they serve and invests in local healthcare facilities, helping to build a foundation that strengthens care long-term.

The 2019 “#ChangeTheOdds” campaign was aiming to generate funds which would be matched by the UK government. These funds would be used to provide care for people in Senegal and raise awareness of the global surgery crisis.

Working as partners, our teams built a fully integrated marketing campaign that used state-of-the-art digital technology and powerful storytelling to capture the attention of new audiences, taking them on a journey with the brand that inspired them to contribute.

Campaign messaging was built around the stories of Salamatou and Mariama, sisters from Cameroon who both suffered from valgus, a condition that caused a deformity in their legs. This condition, not seen in many other parts of the world, made walking very difficult and often prevented them from getting to school. They received free surgeries onboard the Africa Mercy that enabled them to return to school and to the promise of an improved future.

As the #ChangeTheOdds campaign evolved, donors responded with strength as Mercy Ships UK exceeded it’s income targets by a significant margin while receiving matching from the UK government.

The strong influx of income allowed Mercy Ships to invest in strengthening healthcare facilities in Senegal and create a biomedical engineering training program that will help more people in need of care.

The campaign combined emotional storytelling, strong creative and data-backed targeting to help the global charity deliver on its promise to bring hope and healing to people in great need.

Award winners will be announced in September.  We send our congratulations to the Mercy Ships team and best wishes for continued success in serving as a driving force for global good.