UK government pledges to double donations for Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day campaign

On Thursday 8 December, Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day prompts people across the UK to don their jazziest jumpers in exchange for a £2 donation to the charity. 

Now in its 11th year, Save the Children’s campaign has for the first time been chosen for the government’s UK Aid Match scheme. For every £2 donated by the public the UK government will also contribute £2 of UK aid, up to £2 million.

MediaCom North is managing the media placement for the fourth year as the charity’s media communications partner, and its new strategy aims to reach relevant audiences travelling to schools and workplaces during weeks running up to the big day.

“In line with this year’s focus on getting workplaces and schools involved again, the media planning has been shaped around ‘owning the commute’ through a combination of commercial radio and digital out of home timed to reach audiences on the way to work,” commented Chris Pollard, Business Director at MediaCom North. 

“The campaign is running nationally across all commercial radio stations through the Newslink Network, and is synced with Global’s DOOH portfolio to maximise synergy. This approach is based on insight that by using these media channels in conjunction increases their overall effectiveness.   

“These tactics are coupled with Online Video (OLV) advertising, PPC and display to further boost overall reach. We’ve also utilised Google’s latest platform Performance Max (Pmax) to maximise sign ups for the event.”

Condensing the user journey for online sign ups 

Rachel Green, Senior Marketing Manager at Save the Children UK, said: “As well as increasing awareness of Christmas Jumper Day, this year’s campaign has been designed to drive registrations via our online sign-up process – so the messaging is very much focused on how easy it is to get work colleagues, friends and family involved, making it a team effort to raise funds.

 “By condensing the user journey to make it as easy as possible to sign up, create a JustGiving page and get fundraising resources we hope both individuals and groups will make the day super fun.  

“Alongside resources, the website shows how the funds will be used to help children around the world, and how every penny donated makes a big impact on people’s lives.” 

Pollard added: “With strong awareness and a clear call to action we can’t wait to see the results and see workplaces, teams and schools coming together to have some fun.”