Blood Cancer UK Case Study

How Rocking Horse helped tell Alyssa’s story of hope for Blood Cancer UK

“Our Head of Mass Marketing described the video as, “The best bit of video we've ever produced as an organisation” while our Deputy Director of Fundraising said, "seeing it had made her day". I wanted to share these bits of feedback with you as they're a real testament to your hard work and generosity with this pro-bono work.”

Lindsay Toone, Sr. Brand Strategist, Blood Cancer UK

About Blood Cancer UK

Blood Cancer UK is a charity that works to fund world-class research, ensuring everyone affected with blood cancer has access to the right support at the right time, and campaigns for better treatments.

The Requirement

Every year our charity project is a way for us to give back using our skills. It’s a chance for the team to work on a passion project with amazing individuals. When we approached Blood Cancer UK to offer our services, we were delighted to be asked to produce their Christmas appeal film for 2023. Blood Cancer UK wanted to feature a recent success story, that centred around a special young woman named Alyssa, whose life was saved through the research that was funded by the charity.

A close-up of hands writing on gift tags, part of a touching scene from Rocking Horse Pictures' film for Blood Cancer UK, showcasing Alyssa's wish list including 'family dog' and 'friends sleepover', symbolizing hope and future dreams.

The Solution

Even though Christmas was still months away, we started the ideation process early to ensure we could deliver a powerful narrative and prepare for a high-end, stylistic aesthetic. We developed and pitched the idea of having Alyssa write a letter to other people affected by blood cancer to inspire them to deliver hope and raise funds to support more life-saving research. The letter formed the narration of the piece, allowing Alyssa to tell her story in her own words and informing the scenes of the video.

Impact and Benefits

The impact of the film was immense and the response from the charity and the public was outstanding. The film was a central part of the Christmas campaign which beat the fundraising targets by more than 10% and raised over £215,000. Overall, the film generated almost twice as many views as most of the charity's previous video content on Instagram and Facebook. The Christmas campaign, coupled with the activity across Blood Cancer Awareness Month, Blood Cancer UK saw significant increases in most of their brand metrics.

See the video