Save the Children drafts in Medialab to boost impact

Save the Children UK has handed its media planning and buying account to independent agency Medialab with a brief to ramp up the charity’s marketing effectiveness “immediately and in the long-term”.

The review was managed by The Aperto Partnership and sees incumbent EssenceMediacom North relinquish the business it has held since 2019.

Founded in the UK in 1919, with the goal of helping improve the lives of children worldwide, Save the Children has helped 45 million children across the world get the medicine, good food and education they need.

It has more than 600,000 supporters, alongside families, nurses, teachers and other workers.

The charity’s most recent campaign was launched in September last year, devised by agency Don’t Panic. Entitled “Our Proudest Moments Are Theirs”, it is led by a 60-second TV spot designed to serve as a rallying cry for individuals worldwide to unite behind the charity’s mission and recognise the enduring significance of its work.

It features a young Bangladeshi girl who, thanks to a Save the Children programme, is reunited with her mother after being separated from her for a year. It concludes by spotlighting a nine-year-old refugee who, for the first time, attends school in a Syrian camp and learns to write his name.

The campaign ran across Channel 4, ITV, satellite and digital stations and video-on-demand, and was supported by digital activity across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Save the Children UK director of strategic planning, innovation and insight Sarah Potter said: “We met some fantastic people and saw some brilliant thinking from the agencies involved in this process and thank them all for their time and energy.

“Medialab stood out for their understanding of our challenges, and demonstrated how they will help us make a step change in our impact for children immediately and in the long-term.”

She added: “We are very grateful for the The Aperto Partnership’s specialist expertise and guidance to get us to a great result from our process.”

Medialab managing director Alex Kirk added: “We are excited to be partnering with Save the Children, an inspirational cause with a clear vision for how marketing can create the awareness and consideration needed to deliver vital fundraising income, which helps them give children across the world the future they deserve.

“We look forward to putting our collaborative, data-driven approach to media strategy and optimisation into action at a time when Save the Children’s role has greater significance than ever before.”