BAND & BROWN APPOINTED TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE RESPOND IN A CRISIS

 

The British Red Cross has appointed Band & Brown Communications as its creative agency to build propensity to act by increasing the number of 11-16 year olds with first-aid skills.

The agency has been recruited following a 4-way pitch to increase the number of young people who are confident, competent and willing to act when they find themselves, their family or friends in a crisis which can be helped by first aid.

The 15-month campaign will centre around PR creatives, media partnerships, digital advertising and social media - all supported by the Life. Live It. first aid resources taught in schools.

Paul Donnelly, Campaign manager, said:

“As part of the world’s largest first aid training and education organisation the British Red Cross is committed to building the resilience of the UK population through local community programmes, humanitarian education and first aid learning.

As part of this work we specifically want to help children and young people to develop their understanding of humanitarian issues and acquire the skills they need to support others in a crisis.

“This campaign will help to ensure that we shape a generation of young people who are confident, capable and ready to act.” 

Commenting on the appointment, Gill Brown, CEO, Band & Brown Communications said: “We are delighted to be working on this campaign and are looking forward to challenging young peoples’ perceptions of what it means to learn first aid and be willing and able to use it.”

MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY MIND WINS PRO-BONO PR SUPPORT

Mental health charity Mind has beaten stiff competition to secure pro-bono PR support from Band & Brown Communications, the leading communications agency announces today.
More than 70 health and wellbeing charities applied to be considered for the pro-bono offer, which includes two per cent of Band & Brown’s profits from 2009 being put towards the charity’s chosen campaign.

Mind’s campaign – which was overwhelmingly selected by a Band & Brown staff vote from a shortlist of three applications – seeks to develop the organisation’s Taking Care of Business campaign and eradicate negative attitudes towards mental health in the workplace.

Band & Brown’s Head of Public Sector, Simon Francis, commented:

“The judging panel was impressed with the high quality of Mind’s application, which set out clear communications and policy objectives to destigmatise mental health. We’re delighted to work with Mind to help them implement a step-change in how this sensitive issue is handled by employers and perceived by the public.

“The response we received to our pro-bono offer was much higher than expected – which demonstrates how difficult many organisations find it to access vital communications support. For this reason, we are contacting every charity that applied to ensure we can find other ways of supporting their causes – at no cost or directing them to organisations like the Media Trust and the Sheila McKechnie Foundation.”

Mind’s Head of Media, Alison Kerry, commented:

“Mental health is an issue in every workforce yet it’s often the white elephant in the room. Five million people say they are stressed in their jobs, with half a million believing work pressure is making them physically ill but employers often just don’t know how to support their staff and a great deal of stigma about mental health still exists.

“Mind’s Taking care of Business campaign aims to transform attitudes to mental health at work and we are delighted to have the support of Band & Brown in achieving this ambition. We hope their expert advice will aid us in inspiring the nation’s workforce to get behind our campaign.”    

Previous beneficiaries from Band & Brown’s pro-bono scheme include leading education charity, BeatBullying, international aid organisation Advocates for International Development and domestic violence charity RISE.

PRO-BONO PR SUPPORT APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED

Thanks to all the health and wellbeing charities who applied to be our pro-bono cause this year. 

We’ve had a great response and will let all applicants know if they’ve been successful by Friday 9 July. Good luck!