Simplyhealth turns Facebook Likes into pounds for Heart Research UK
How to use TV and social media to bring mutual values to life
Overview
Simplyhealth partnered Heart Research UK to raise awareness of a health issue and turn Facebook Likes into pounds. The £150,000 reached will fund a medical research project. It’s the first time a financial services company has used Facebook in this way.
The campaign raised awareness of the link between dental health and cardiovascular disease. Simplyhealth donated £1 to Heart Research UK for every new Like on its Facebook page. It provided health guides, videos and other content to keep fans engaged throughout.
The campaign achieved its fundraising target and increased awareness of both companies. Crucially people engaged with the campaign.
Impact
By combining Simplyhealth’s television advertising and social media we helped raise awareness of a health issue and donate £150,000 to charity. The campaign increased Simplyhealth’s Facebook fans from 15,545 to over 150,000. The key impact was increased engagement.
• 331,000 engaged users
• 24,408,000 page engagements (new likes, comments, posts and shares)
• 95% of Facebook comments were positive
• Simplyhealth brand awareness exceeded 2012 target
• Heart Research UK Facebook fans increased by 87% and website visits increased 347%
Simplyhealth’s now funding a research Grant, which will be awarded to a medical institution in June.
Innovation
It’s the first time a financial services company has combined television and social media to donate to charity. The campaign gave health information to a wider audience (total reach topped 24 million) through health guides, videos and a quiz on Facebook. People also tracked the donation via a totaliser.
An engaged Facebook community developed where people shared their experiences of heart disease or problems with dental health. The community also became self moderating, sometimes responding to negative comments that they felt were unacceptable.
The campaign brought Simplyhealth’s mutual values to life by encouraging people to engage with the campaign.[/one_half_last]
Insight
We initially failed to recognise the number of people who would want to Like the Facebook page on their mobile. Our original Facebook app did not count Likes from mobiles so we amended it after the first six week wave of advertising. When this started in January 2013 our Likes increased by 42%.
For the second wave we also included more shareable Facebook content. This provided higher engagement and organic sharing from fans.
We also underestimated that the majority wanted to Like the page to help us reach £150,000, they did not all access the health information that was available.
Inspiration
We’ve built an engaged Facebook community and inspired people to think about their health in a new way. Our unlike rates are minimal compared to those who are engaging with our brand and values. We have also given something back by funding a medical research project, so our community can see the impact that getting involved has had. This means we can continue the story as the research develops, which will be a lasting legacy of the campaign.
We have also helped to give Heart Research UK a much bigger platform to promote their work.[/one_half_last]
The Speaker
Clare Lee
Head of Brand, PR & Digital Marketing
Simplyhealth
Clare joined Simplyhealth (then HSA) in 2007 and was responsible for leading the company through its rebrand to Simplyhealth in 2009. She currently heads up the Brand, PR and Digital Marketing teams.