Case Study
Launching the UK arm of a global cancer charity

Project: UK launch and brand development for international blood cancer charity, DKMS
Sector: Healthcare, charity, donor recruitment, public health,
non-profit marketing
When: 2016

Ambition
When I joined DKMS as UK Marketing and Communications Manager, the charity didn´t exist in the UK. My role was to help build its presence from the ground up by developing a three-year marketing plan, setting up all core channels, campaign assets, launch materials, and advertising, while working closely with the fundraising and donor recruitment teams and collaborating with colleagues across London, Cologne, the US, Poland, and Spain.

Action
With the brand foundations in place, I partnered with the recruitment and fundraising teams to create targeted campaigns, including one focused on reaching more young male donors aged 18–25. This was an underrepresented group on the register and most likely to result as matching donor. Our approach combined location-based social media, events, and partnerships to grow awareness and increase individual action.

Impact
We grew the number of young male donors across the UK by 14%, helping make the register more diverse and representative. By 2017 the marketing and recruitment team hit a huge milestone: registering 1 million potential donors, resulting in around 2,400 stem cell donations.