The challenge
The British Red Cross approached us for a complete rebrand, remake and general overhaul of their first aid content, which was over 10 years old. They wanted stronger brand recognition, more engagement from the viewer and better recall of key skills. Everything had to be signed off by medical professionals so it was clinically accurate.
Our approach
A crucial element of our strategy was to not only produce educational resources, but also tell raw, emotional, human stories of survival to maximise engagement and empower the public. We also needed to develop a format that could deliver serious volume when it comes to assets and cover 25 key first aid skills.
The 25 hero films were developed in a modular way that would allow us to create multiple video and photography assets to fuel the British Red Cross' marketing campaigns, and make sure they could be adapted to fit as many usage applications as possible. We developed a multifunctional studio space — the ‘Red Cross House' — adaptable to various first aid scenarios, which also enabled us to create brand uniformity.
The format also allowed us to shoot in volume with streamlined set changes and controlled lighting that a real location would not offer. This was the first of its kind in the first aid space. We also developed intentionally simplified graphics to facilitate ongoing updates by the charity.
The results
The videos have been viewed 4 million times across the British Red Cross website, app, social media, Google ads and YouTube channel.
5 News publicised the series with an interview featuring a British Red Cross representative, Hayley, who, by following first aid, helped save her son who'd stopped breathing. Its evening programme has an estimated reach of 1 million viewers.
3,000 assets were created from the 25 hero films, including 75 short form videos.
The films have been given a hard to achieve ‘healthcare provider of note' certification by YouTube. This ensures the assets are given prominence alongside a stamp of approval. YouTube were so impressed they invited the British Red Cross and Middle Table to speak at an event for health creators.
