British Heart Foundation: the ‘calculate the cost of heart disease’ mailing

Exhibited by
Maxine Delahunty.
Added
September 30, 2009
Medium of Communication
Direct mail
Target Audience
Awareness, corporations
Type of Charity
Healthcare, research & policy development
Country of Origin
UK
Date of first appearance
Mid 1980s

SOFII’s view

This is irresistible. How could any cost-conscious businessman or woman resist playing with this gadget to get an idea of what heart disease is costing his or her bottom line each year? And which cause is this business man, or woman, going to support when it comes to deciding who’s going to benefit from his, of her, firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget? What a great creative idea. 

Creator / originator

Burnett Associates Limited.

Summary / objectives

To raise money from companies to fund heart research of course, but also to start a meaningful dialogue with companies about the dangers of heart disease and looking after their employees’ health.

Background

BHF at the time (c.1986) had no track record or experience of communicating with corporate donors. The calculator was developed as a way of breaking the ice, of introducing a potentially difficult subject.

Special characteristics

The calculator was a unique involvement device.

Influence / impact

It won awards. And produced a great response.

Details

Unfortunately all details are lost. We also can’t locate the full package, with covering letter, reply form and envelope and outer envelope. If you have these, please let SOFII know so we can borrow some quick scans.

Results

The results were very good. By cold acquisition standards, exceptional. But no accurate record remains.

Merits

This is a great creative concept, one of the best involvement devices of all time.

View original image
A simple pull down tab and you can work out how many person days male and female members of your workforce are likely to lose each year through heart disease, even how many of your people, statistically, might be likely to die from it.