Box Power CIC is a national not-for-profit energy consultancy that have been passionately campaigning for better funding for the hospice sector. Based in Bolton, and headed up by Corin and Tricia Dalby, Box Power CIC is the UK’s first and only philanthropic energy consultancy, and they have spent the past 10 years supporting hospices up and down the country, as well as North West charities, to whom they have donated an incredible £800,000.
When Box Power CIC launched their hospice funding campaign, they called for £100 million from FCA bank fines to go straight to funding the struggling hospice sector. According to Hospice UK, hospices currently receive just one third of their income from the government, equivalent to around £0.5bn, and they need to raise the remaining £1.1bn themselves.
With the cost of living putting a significant strain on people’s wallets, hospices are getting less and less donations. Box Power CIC’s campaign challenges the status quo and calls for immediate action – with CEO Corin Dalby reaching out to MPs for support, and visiting Downing Street to hand their letter into the Prime Minister to ensure hospices remained at the forefront of Labour’s agenda.
The media challenge: bringing hospice funding to the forefront
Our challenge was to secure national and regional media coverage for Box Power CIC’s campaign, including calling on members of the public to first support their change.org petition, and then also encouraging them to call on their local MP to support the hospice funding campaign. We also needed to secure regional and national coverage around Corin and Tricia’s attendance at Downing Street, to ensure they get a response from the Prime Minister.
Our PR approach: humanising the campaign
At the heart of our strategy was keeping the urgent need to find a solution at the centre of the hospice campaign. Corin Dalby, our client, is passionate and driven, and determined to help bring change in the hospice sector – and we needed to support and secure broadcast coverage so he could discuss his solution. As Box Power CIC are a Bolton-based business, heading to Downing Street, we targeted northwest media who can speak directly to people all across the region.
Leveraging our media relationships, we secured extensive coverage across broadcast, print, sector and online platforms. These efforts included:
- A feature on BBC Breakfast and BBC Politics for Corin Dalby to discuss his campaign alongside hospice leaders to talk about the real challenges the sector is now facing.
- Corin and Tricia’s attendance at Downing Street was covered by ITV Granada and BBC North West Tonight, as they handed their letter into Downing Street, supported by a number of high-profile MPs including Sir Iain Duncan Smith.
- Multiple features in print and online in the Daily Express, reaching the general public nationally and calling on them to support their campaign.
- Coverage in The Times and The Telegraph as the hospice campaign garnered its initial MP support.
- Features in crucial sector media including UK Fundraising, Civil Society, Caring Times, and the lead story of the Charity Times.
Results
While the campaign is still ongoing, so far coverage has reached 4.81 million estimated views, 854 million audience and an average domain authority of 73. The campaign has also garnered 43.3 K engagements, alongside the support of over 90 members of parliament.