YouGov’s CharityIndex measured the public's perception of Cancer Research UK over the past few months.
Cancer Research UK had a busy winter. Just before Christmas it premiered its new advertising campaign and in January it encouraged people to undertake a Dryathlon – donating the cash they would have spent on alcohol during the month to the charity. In late January it launched its 2013 Race for Life activity. But how much of it was noticed by consumers and what impact did it have on the public’s support for Cancer Research UK?
Advertising Impact
The charity’s Buzz score, which tracks whether people have heard something positive or negative about it, rose steadily from 15.7 in late December once Cancer Research UK’s new ads aired. This increase was sustained throughout February and our data suggest the charity maintained its support over this sustained period because it sequenced and planned its campaigns well.
While the Dryathlon was not aimed squarely at males (indeed, some of the campaign’s most high-profile media coverage came from a female perspective), the figures clearly show that men had higher Buzz scores than women throughout January, only to drop off when Dryathlon ended. The charity’s Buzz among women continued to increase steadily throughout February as Race for Life activity started. This made up for the fall off among men and helped the charity maintain the momentum established by the advertising campaign.
Cancer Research UK Male and Female Buzz Scores, 3 December 2012 to 22 February 2013
The big thing now is to see if it can maintain this level of support into the spring and summer – the launch of the Race for Life advertising activity suggests it could.
This is an abridged version of a longer piece written exclusively for Third Sector. The full blog can be read on the Third Sector website
