Background

Legacies had been deprioritised at Oxfam from 2018. But two to three years on and, while other charities had nurtured legacies, we were losing market share and needed to bring legacies back to the fore of our strategy. Our ‘Stay in the Fight’ campaign was designed to speak to potential supporters’ desire to continue ‘the good fight’ even after they were gone.

Summary / objectives

Keen to engage with a new and cold audience who shared the charity’s values, we launched our ‘Stay in the Fight’ campaign in 2023. Aimed at a 55+ audience worried about climate injustice, the campaign presented legacy giving to Oxfam as a final radical act of kindness. 

It’s aims were to:

• Increase legacy enquirers and conversion to pledgers  
• Improve brand buzz and brand consideration
• Leverage owned, earned and paid channels to maximise impact among the Boomer generation

Creator / originator

Film creative and production: Don’t Panic

Below the line creative: Consider Creative

Media planning and buying: the Kite Factory

In a stroke of synchronicity, the film was directed by Ebeneza Blanche. Ebeneza is an award-winning multidisciplinary filmmaker, who grew up between Ghana, Amsterdam and London – and had once worked as a face-to-face fundraiser for Oxfam.

The creative

The film tells the story of main character Edith, an active protester in her youth. In the current narrative, Edith is in London, explaining to her grandchildren that although she no longer takes part in protests, she is still ‘in the fight’. The film flashes back to black and white scenes of what appears to be Edith as a young woman in Kenya, protesting for climate justice. As Edith’s story unfolds, the black and white shots turn to colour, and it is revealed that ‘young Edith’ is actually current and real-life climate activist Joyce Koech.

To view the full one minute film on Oxfam’s YouTube channel, please click the image below. 

Merits

With this campaign we wanted to break the mould of legacy ads. Often, they portray Baby Boomers as silent and conservative, but they’re the ‘original rebels’. We’re inspired by our supporters who were the original climate activists, and to coincide with the TV ad, we ran a public relations campaign featuring some of the people who’d protested in the 1983 march for peace at London’s Hyde Park. 

The original demonstration, which took place on October 22, 1983, saw 400,000 people gather in Hyde Park to protest against the presence of nuclear missiles in the UK. To mark the 40th anniversary, we reunited them and captured their rebellious spirit, which is still very much alive. 

Having current day protester Joyce Koech to front the film brought two generations together in solidarity to show how Boomers leaving a legacy gift to Oxfam today can help continue the fight tomorrow.

Results

• Given TV’s strength for reaching our target Baby Boomer audience, the film was showcased in a campaign that aired across Sky, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News and Channel 5, reaching 35 per cent of ABC1 55+ viewers. 
• During the time the TV ad aired (19 October – 12 November 2023), legacy considerations went up 10 per cent among our target audience. Those who said they would ‘never consider leaving a legacy gift to Oxfam’ went down 10 per cent.
• We saw a 28 per cent shift in legacy actions, i.e. new enquiries and pledgers – a significant uplift on the previous year. 
• Over 240 earned pieces of media coverage were secured, including key titles such as London’s Evening Standard, The Independent and Mail Online, equating to a reach of over 50 million.

Legacy is a slow-moving income stream, so whilst we cannot show an immediate short-term return, these extremely positive indicator metric shifts have the potential to deliver significant gifts in wills back to the charity.

Other relevant information

Due to its success and reception, we’re planning to bring the ad back in 2025. In its first iteration we deliberately avoided using a direct response mechanism. In the second however we’re planning on a clearer call to action. Now our new brand narrative is out, we feel it’s appropriate to be more direct with our ask.

By showing potential supporters how they could stay in the fight by leaving a legacy gift, the income generated by this campaign will help Oxfam beat poverty by delivering much-needed support for future generations of change-makers.

Influence / impact

The campaign was critically well received. Remember A Charity commented on its energy, and it was highly commended in the Third Sector Awards communications campaign category. It also won the Silver Marketing Award for best out of home campaign. 

Leading marketing title The Drum featured ‘Stay in the Fight’ as its Ad of the Week, calling it an ‘ode to activism’.

Final notes

If you’ve loved hearing about how this legacy ad was created, you can check out more expert analysis on it in The Legacy Showcase.

Click to enter the showcase then scroll down and you’ll find a short four-minute presentation by Dominic Myers Green (Head of Individual Giving & Engagement
Tommy’s), explaining why he admires this campaign. 

Then, keep browsing to see even more inspirational legacy campaigns from charities around the world. The showcase is brought to you by Legacy Futures, Remember A Charity and SOFII.

IMAGES: © All images courtesy of Oxfam GB