Background

Newcastle University’s medical school is a world leading centre of research, particularly in its work with stem cells and ageing.

To mark its 175th anniversary we developed a campaign to celebrate the school’s place in history and its contribution to medicine at home and abroad.

We wanted to explore its civic contribution via the impact it had made on the lives of the citizens of the region, as well as celebrating its reputation for global leadership in medical research.

Strategy

A key aim was to make the school’s story a very ‘personal’ one. We produced a rich seam of stories and feature pieces concentrating on the lives of some of the school’s famous alumni, its doctors who still work within the region and those who work around the world. We also brought attention to some of the people who had been helped by their work. The result was a moving and many layered campaign which brought vividly to life the history and work of the school.

An interesting and lively mix of events and activities were also devised, bringing together academics, funders and the public.

Editorial partnerships were brokered with the BBC and NCJ Media, with a TV news feature piece broadcast during breakfast, lunch and evening news on the campaign launch day. Coverage was gained resulting in over £800,000 of regional comment, news and feature pieces, as well as pieces in leading medical journals.

Result

The campaign created a high level of engagement between the civic community, alumni and key funding organisations, revealing the many ways in which the school contributes to the community and to world health.