Cadbury believe there is a generous instinct inside us all, which has underpinned brand campaigns since 2018 and is signified by the phrase ‘there’s a glass and a half in everyone’. In 2019 Cadbury launched a campaign entitled ‘Donate your words’, which was formed from the insight that 225,000 older people in the UK will experience a whole week without talking to anybody – and that just a few words from anyone can make a critical difference to mental wellbeing and happiness. ‘Donate your words’ was created with the primary goal of raising awareness of this issue, and to encourage the nation to donate their words by having a chat with an older person.
In January 2020 we agreed a global partnership with Manchester United, and subsequently, we saw the official announcement of this partnership as the perfect communications platform to support the second stage of Cadbury’s ‘Donate your words’ campaign. Working with the club, we utilised partnership assets including access to players (both men and women), digital media amplification and matchday access, to create a unique ‘Guest of Honour’ experience for 11 local elderly Manchester United fans. This was captured in a series of long-form content pieces which showed the players donating their words to these older fans and was amplified across paid, owned and earned media channels – including the club’s digital ecosystem.
The announcement was a remarkable success reaching hundreds of millions of people. Most importantly it delivered awareness of both the loneliness issue and the partnership; encouraged the nation to donate their words; and helped to reinforce Cadbury’s belief that there is a glass and a half in everyone.
