Liz Lean PR’s campaign of the month award goes to the British Heart Foundation’s ‘Restart a Heart day,’ which took place on 18th October.
The campaign was created in order to raise awareness of cardiac arrest and train the nation in the lifesaving skills of CPR. The day runs in conjunction with the Resuscitation Council (UK), British Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, and Yorkshire Ambulance Service to ensure that every child knows how to save a life.
You’re on Twitter 📱
Your ❤️ stops
You go into cardiac arrest❤️ this Tweet to see what happens next. #RestartAHeart
— BHF (@TheBHF) October 18, 2016
British Heart Foundation launched a promoted campaign on Twitter, creating the scenario of ‘what if your heart stopped right now’ and encouraging users to like the tweet to find out what happens next.
The campaign uses Twitter’s autoreply feature – you may have seen this previously when following companies and getting a direct message straight away selling their wares, or asking you to download their latest how-to guide.
Responses were based on the statistics that less than one in ten people who suffer cardiac arrest will survive; carrying out CPR before the emergency services arrive will dramatically improve this statistic.
90% of users received a reply saying that they were unlucky, involving the reader emotionally by telling them they didn’t make it as nobody started CPR before calling an ambulance.
The remaining 10% of users received a tweet saying ‘you’re lucky’; someone performed CPR before the ambulance arrived. This response also highlights that because of the current statistics, you may not have made it through.
@caatstca Less than 1 in 10 people got this tweet. Help us fight back. https://t.co/EJiR9jW2o8 #RestartAHeart pic.twitter.com/5lGkUtl5iI
— BHF (@TheBHF) October 18, 2016
@caatstca Sadly, most people got this tweet. Help us fight back. https://t.co/zxJjowuDLZ #RestartAHeart pic.twitter.com/jEvAiDvXVm
— BHF (@TheBHF) October 18, 2016
The tweets linked through to this video, further explaining the work that BHF carry out with their partners. Their aim is to bring CPR training into more schools and raise a nation of lifesavers, with statistics showing that survival rates are three times higher in countries where the skills are widely taught.
The campaign received mix reactions – while many praised the clever use of social media, some claimed that the shock factor was too much. Rarely does an advert pass by without causing offence to someone, but a campaign highlighting the extent to which lives are at risk needs to create an impact.
I have to admit, I did ‘heart’ the tweet a few times to see what the different responses were – all in the name of research of course – and I was a little disappointed when at first I received the ‘unlucky’ message. I feel that the delicate subject was handled well and really got people talking about the issue on social media.
CPR is an important lifesaving skill and courses typically take 30 minutes to an hour. Click here to find out more from the British Heart Foundation.