2014 Gold Charity

How did the campaign make a difference? UNICEF achieved a world first – integrating a fundraising appeal into a live, televised opening ceremony to ask the people of the Commonwealth to unite, put children first and give a small donation, together, at exactly the same time.

The campaign put a stake in the ground to show it’s possible to fundraise through a single global moment – using mobile as the primary payment and communication channel.

And that it is possible to do this through positive stories, not negative ones.

UNICEF have shifted the telethon landscape in the UK and challenged others to change their approach to traditional ‘telethon’ storytelling.

Strategy This was a party. Integrating a fundraising appeal into the Opening Ceremony could not affect the high-energy, upbeat, Glaswegian tone of the show.

Rather than show suffering, UNICEF shared upbeat stories of their work across the Commonwealth with the simple, positive proposition ‘Tonight let’s put children first’ – and a specially composed song used to lift response.

As athletes entered the stadium they were welcomed by children from across the Commonwealth through positive UNICEF films, presented as live. Six ordinary but extraordinary people who play an integral part in Glasgow society were flown to meet these children and be part of the films, joined by celebrity UNICEF ambassadors including Ewan McGregor, Chris Hoy and James McAvoy to share the children’s stories and ask the public to put children first.

One big-give moment, a threeminute window in the show, asked everyone to donate by mobile – with SMS medals sent for people to share on Facebook.

Creativity Six inspirational films were integrated into the fabric of the show and shown ‘as live’ to create the sense of a shared live experience and maintain the rhythm of the Opening Ceremony.

The spirit and voice of Glasgow’s people was kept central to UNICEF’s vision and video, mobile and overall experiences by filming six Glaswegians visiting its work.

Children from around the world formed a virtual choir to perform the UNICEF’s headline song, ‘What If’, whilst a symbolic gesture was shown being made by children across the Commonwealth and a contribution was made from the International Space Station – adding up to create a unique, absorbing and uniting narrative that felt historical and global.

UNICEF’s show culminated in The Big Ask – a dramatic call to action in which James McAvoy and Chris Hoy asked the Commonwealth to donate by mobile during one shared moment. The stadium lit up as people raised their phones in testimony to encourage the rest of the world to join in and donate.

Results An above-target 700,000 people in the UK – 10% of viewers – responded, donating a collective £3.7m on the night.

The activity dominated Twitter, trending in the top 10.

And the feedback from politicians, stakeholders, the press and UNICEF Executive Directors from the Commonwealth was overwhelming – here are some extracts – in confidence: “The coverage for UNICEF came across strongly including the pioneering nature of the fundraising. Congratulations to all who have helped make it happen. Another proud moment. “ “The CWG’s opening ceremony was fantastic and highly energetic, but above all the way UNICEF was totally integrated all along the presentations thanks to the videos and the voices of your Ambassadors was a not only “premiere” but also gave a very special human touch with the permanent presence of children.” “I don’t think any universal sport event has ever been organized around a cause, like the one we have lived through yesterday.” “The films were excellent and the idea of taking Glaswegians over to the projects and the little girl over to Glasgow to carry the baton was a masterstroke.” “It was especially moving for me, attending this event in my home city, where the people were amazingly friendly and the weather was amazingly warm, but by far the most memorable aspects of the event were the contributions from UNICEF.”