CAPTAIN TOM MOORE Six key PR insights from the feel-good news event of 2020
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CAPTAIN
TOM
MOORE
Six key PR insights
from the feel-good
news event of 2020
2
01 Introduction ...…….……………………..……..3
02 Campaign overview ...…….…..…………….5
03
First picture of Captain Tom Moore
sent with initial press release
Timeline of events ...………..……………….7
04 Lessons learned ...……...……….………….12
05 TABLE OF
Special thanks ...……...……….…...…….….22
06 Methodology...……...……….....….23
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
March 23 Britain goes into initial lockdown with
review date set for three weeks’ time.
Every story needs a hero. In the March 27
Health Secretary and Prime Minister
Boris Johnson begin to self-isolate with
suspected Coronavirus symptoms.
midst of the greatest crisis since April 2 Boris Johnson is admitted into hospital.
WWII, we found one ‘We will meet again’: the Queen speaks
to the nation in a rallying message that
In March and April 2020, the Coronavirus was Determined to give back to the NHS after it had April 5
echoes the spirit and leadership of
rapidly exerting its terrifying grip over everyday life helped him through a brush with skin cancer and a WWII.
in the UK. Something, that just a few weeks before more recent broken hip, Captain Tom Moore and Boris Johnson is moved to intensive
had seemed impossibly remote, was changing the his family had an idea on how they might play their care. The severity of the situation visibly
April 6
very fabric of normal existence throughout the own small part to help. The idea was simple, shakes the government and shocks the
country. Everything that the nation had taken for Captain Tom would put his daily exercise to good nation.
granted was being turned on its head as bars, use. He would walk 100 times around the family Over these 4 days Britain suffers what
cinemas, schools, restaurants, shops and home and seek to raise £1,000 from friends and April 7-11 turn out to be the highest numbers of
workplaces were closed. Families, friends and loved family to donate to NHS Charities Together. Within daily deaths throughout the pandemic.
ones were unable to see each other and instead a week, over £100,000 had been raised. Within the
ordered to stay indoors at home. The news was a month, the amount raised had increased to a mind Press release sent to local media
developing crescendo of fear and horror; the boggling £32.8 million. April 7 contacts. Captain Tom’s story is picked
potency and lethality of the virus, an ever- up by a handful of regional media.
increasing number of hospital admissions, a rapidly In this special report, CARMA International sets out
growing daily death toll, the PM in intensive care the story of how this incredible fundraising feat
Captain Tom’s story starts to garner
and an R number that was remaining stubbornly occurred, and the critical part that PR played. Using April 8-9 interest online and from regional
high. Highly unusually, the Queen was compelled to our extensive global media monitoring and broadcast media.
address the nation. evaluation capabilities, and entirely from publicly
available information, CARMA has analysed and Captain Tom and daughter Hannah
As the timeline of events to the right shows, just as interpreted three distinct phases of those four April 10 appear on national breakfast TV. The
the situation was at its worst and we needed it weeks. story ignites.
most, a hero rose again from a previous era, and
from exactly the age demographic that the virus With comments and input from a network of senior Boris Johnson discharged from hospital.
most threatened. international PR and communication experts, we April 12 Deaths in the UK surpasses 10,000.
then set out six key insights that can be drawn from Health Secretary describes it as a
This is the story of how a retired army officer, in the this chain of events - one of the greatest ‘sombre day’.
run up to his 100th birthday, refused to be cowered, demonstrations of the effectiveness of authentic
instead leading by example and showing the whole purpose, PR and communication ever achieved. Lockdown extended for a further three
nation how to act in the face of adversity. April 16
weeks…
4 “ Virtutis Fortuna Comes ‘Fortune favours the brave’ The Latin motto of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in which Captain Tom served in WWII and the words with which he chose to celebrate raising his first £10 million.
CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW 5 PR lit the fire At a family barbecue on Sunday April 5 2020, 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore took some of his first steps of the year outside. Recovering from a broken hip, he had previously only been able to exercise indoors at the family residence. As he walked, the idea came to him and his family that he could walk around the premises 100 times before his 100th birthday and do this to raise money for charity. He wanted to donate to the NHS which had looked after him so well and was now fighting tirelessly to protect the British people from the ravages of COVID-19. At first, the idea was limited to family and friends sponsoring him £1 a lap. “We thought we might make £100 quid”, reminisced Captain Tom. They then decided to be a little more ambitious and Captain Tom’s daughter Hannah Ingram- Moore asked her friend and company’s freelance PR consultant, Daisy Craydon, to promote the story to the regional media. Daisy sent out a press release on April 7 to local media contacts and a JustGiving page was set up. An initial target of £1,000 was established. The following 24 days in April changed the history of charitable donations in the UK and lifted spirits around the world. This report breaks down three key time periods across the month of April in more detail, telling the story of what happened and then providing six critical insights to explain why.
CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW 6
From regional, to national, to global
Captain Tom’s story wasn’t just of
national interest. Despite it being Global campaign overview April 7-30, 2020
a deeply British narrative
featuring a WWII veteran
Global interest in ‘Captain Tom’
fundraising for the NHS, it caught (Google Search Trends)
the imagination of people the
world over.
29.3K 43.3K 898K 145M
online articles pieces of global social Captain Tom
More than 72,500 pieces of global broadcast media mentions Twitter impressions
international media content from
almost every country on the planet
were generated. Captain Tom’s
story lit up the world’s social
conversations with over 898,000 232 1.5M £32.8M 63
mentions from 232 territories. global territories number donations countries
talking about Tom of donors donating
The story didn’t just generate
coverage – it impacted audiences.
“Captain Tom” was widely searched
for online internationally which in Global media coverage and interest during the JustGiving campaign
turn flowed through to more than
one and a half million donations 100 16,000
being made from 63 countries. 90 14,000
Traditional media volume
80
Global search index
12,000
70
The international reach of the 10,000
60 Global traditional media
campaign demonstrates a singular, 50 8,000
Global search trend
common sense of community 40 6,000
during this global pandemic; that in 30
those unprecedented times of fear, 4,000
20
isolation and distance, we were 10 2,000
united by the emotional pull of a 0 0
hero, a good news story and a great April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April April
cause. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
TIMELINE 7
#WALK
WITH Timeline
TOM of events
A deeper look into the
key moments that
helped propel a local
fundraising event to
international fame.
TIMELINE 8
April 7-13
THE •
April 7
Press release •
April 8
The BBC •
April 9
SSAFA, the •
April 10
Capt Tom •
April 11
Capt Tom’s •
April 12
Unsurprising •
April 13
Capt Tom
FIRST
distributed to features the Armed Forces asked to make daughter fall in volume in appears on
regional media story on BBC charity, shares first Hannah and content Good Morning
• Story picked Berkshire, the story on appearance on nephew (Easter), but Britain
up by several BBC Three social media, BBC Breakfast appear on BBC not interest in • Piers Morgan
local outlets Counties and injecting it into • As his Twitter Breakfast the story donates
including the first a wider, highly followers and • Celebrities which is £10,000 live on
STEPS
Bedford snippet relevant and JustGiving from multiple propelled GMB and
Today and appears on motivated donations both walks of life further by an triggers
MKFM BBC News online surge, the full continue to appearance on another wave
• PR Daisy website community. emotional promote the Radio 2 with of donations
Craydon • ITV Anglia • Social resonance of story to wide Michael Ball. • Sports stars
receives interviews engagement the story first and diverse • Watching the and celebrities
interest from Capt Tom who and sharing dawns on audiences donations from all walks
“It was extremely organic. There was no 4-5 local media modestly says: start to take Captain Tom • Capt Tom surge, Ball get behind
planned strategy, PR brief or PR objective. It outlets “One little soul off. and his family. begins to use sets the Capt Tom
just turned out to be the story everybody • “Little did we like me won't • Broadcast • TV and the challenge to including
needed at the right time”, comments Daisy know at that make much coverage now broadcast #tomorrowwill his listeners: rugby, football,
Craydon, the family friend and freelance PR time that difference, I includes BBC celebrities beagoodday “Let’s get him cricket, horse-
Captain Tom hope that it News, Talk respond to the hashtag to £300,000”. riding, boxing,
consultant who sent the initial press release would become does but it Radio, ITV humor, Listeners F1, MotoGP
to the local media. The original idea had been a global name won't will it?” Anglia, BBC warmth and respond and and golf as well
simply to raise money from friends and and national Berkshire and humility of donations as politicians,
family. Over a barbecue lunch, the family treasure, and a MKFM. Capt Tom and flood in. comedians and
thought they may be able to raise a bit more beacon of pure start to share • Justgiving goal business
money if they could generate some local hope.” recalls his story raised to leaders.
interest. Captain Tom’s daughter Hannah Daisy later widely £500K
asked Daisy to send out a release and they
Total: £1,420 Total: £2,039 Total: £7,773 Total: £59,667 Total: £198,098 Total: £332,499 Total: £790,570
increased the fundraising ambition to
£1,000. Daisy distributed the first press
release to the local media. It received “four
to five media requests within the hour. The
first media to pick up on it were BBC Three
Counties Radio, ITV Anglia and MKFM. Really,
really regional”, Daisy recalls.
From there, the story was quickly picked up
by the national media both online and
broadcast. By April 10, Captain Tom had
made his first appearance on BBC Breakfast.
After this appearance, his campaign saw the
highest percentage daily growth in social
mentions (690%) and corresponding
donations (668%) of the whole month.
TIMELINE 9
April 14-20
THE •
April 14
Raises over •
April 15
There are now •
April 16
Capt Tom •
April 17
Congratulation •
April 18
Capt Tom •
April 19
The newly •
April 20
Captain Tom
100TH
£3M in just 24 over 90K completes his s flood in teams up with released single receives a
hours and people on the 100th lap live across social Michael Ball debuts at No. 1 congratulatory
crashes the JustGiving on BBC media. for a charity on The Official letter from
JustGiving site page at any Breakfast and Celebrities, release of Big Top 40 WWII singing
• Appears again one moment ITV News with politicians, single “You’ll chart legend, Dame
on BBC • Capt Tom’s soldiers from comedians etc Never Walk Vera Lynn, and
LAP
Breakfast and story is 1st Battalion joined by The Alone” with his
ITV’s GMB featured on The Yorkshire Duke & • Piccadilly customary
• 8-year-old various Regiment Duchess of Circus lights humour and
Reegan Davies national forming a Cambridge up to humbleness
creates broadcast Guard of with a heartfelt congratulate apologises to
#makeacardfo media Honour message the ‘national her for keeping
rtom campaign including BBC • A petition treasure’ her off the No.
Following the unprecedented growth in asking children One, ITV and calling for Capt 1 position
media attention of the first week, the second to send Sky News Tom to be while also
week saw the volumes grow significantly as birthday cards knighted goes discretely
interest in the story exploded and as Captain to Capt Tom. viral reaching refusing to
Tom closed in on completing the target of his • This birthday over 1 million disclose what
100th lap. This week saw the highest card idea gets signatures. it contained to
instant traction • An inspired the media.
incremental growth in donation value
and support Michael Ball
throughout the fundraising campaign’s resulting in sings “You’ll
lifecycle, with the four days leading up to and over 150,000 Never Walk
after the completion of his 100 laps attracting cards being Alone” to Capt
donations amounting to over £5 million each sent Tom live on
day. On April 15, the highest amount donated BBC Breakfast
of any day occurred with a massive £7.6
million uplift from the day before. Total: £4,109,309 Total: £11,677,688 Total: £17,220,040 Total: £22,805,814 Total: £25,574,829 Total: £26,559,945 Total: £27,360,937
On April 16, Captain Tom completed his 100th
lap live on BBC Breakfast and ITV News. This
generated the second highest social media
activity of the month, second only to his 100th
birthday on April 30. International media,
celebrities, royalty, politicians, broadcast and
sports stars applauded his achievement for
the NHS and contribution to the morale of
the country.
When Tom finished his final 10 laps, the press
interest continued to grow. International
media requests, coverage, social media
conversations and donations were received
from all over the world.
TIMELINE 10
April 21-30
THE
April 30
April 22 April 24 April 27
• The 100th birthday
• Birthday cards • Capt Tom tops • Royal Mail celebration
100TH
pour in, opened the charts and announces a • Amid widespread tributes,
by volunteers breaks record as special Capt Tom is appointed the Total donations
and put on show oldest artist to postmark to
at grandson’s claim UK No. 1 celebrate
first Honorary Colonel of the
Army Foundation College raised:
school
•
single
He also breaks
Captain Tom’s
birthday
Harrogate and am Honorary
Member of the England
£32,795,065
BDAY
the world record cricket team
for the most • There is an overwhelming
money raised number of birthday presents
ever by charity and wishes coming from all
walk over the world
• #walkwithtom,
Total: £28,166,485 Total: £28,758, 302 Total: £29,031,553 #tomorrowwillbeagoodday
The final stretch of the month was all hashtags go viral
about mounting excitement and April 23 April 26 April 29 • An RAF Spitfire and Hurricane
anticipation in the lead up to Captain perform a flypast over Capt
• Capt Tom is • Media reports • Many tributes Tom’s home
Tom’s birthday on April 30.
awarded a Capt Tom is and well wishes • The Queen, Prime Minister
special Daily set to receive a continue to and Leader of the Opposition
The volume of content in both social and Mirror Pride of personalised pour in in the lead the birthday tributes
mainstream media remained high and Britain Award telegram from lead up to which continue to flood in
largely consistent. Media focused on the • ITV announces the Queen and Captain Tom’s from royalty, celebrities,
upcoming centennial birthday and a it will air a RAF flypast for birthday politicians and sports
flurry of mentions leading up to the UK Captain Tom his birthday personalities
music chart results on April 24. Moore special • JustGiving page is closed
on VE Day with a total of £32.8M raised
for donation to NHS
Donations steadied to a consistent level Total: £28,528,111 Total: £29,031,534 Total: £29,544,370 Charities Together
between £100,000 and £300,000 per day
until one final surge on his birthday itself.
The second highest wave in media,
social, search and donations culminate
on the last Captain Tom’s birthday itself.
Data shows a 1560% daily increase in
social mentions with a further £3.3
million donations raised.TIMELINE 11
May 8
May 5 VE Day May 14 May 20
• Several TV documentaries and • Penguin Books announces • Captain Tom is awarded a
specials are commissioned two books will be published knighthood for his
• The Captain Tom Foundation later in the year. fundraising efforts
is established to help combat ‘Tomorrow Will Be A Good
loneliness, support hospices Day: My autobiography’
and help those facing and a children's picture
bereavement. book following key
moments from Captain
Tom's incredible life,
showing what is possible
when we all come together
and never, ever give up
Multiple other honorary titles and
awards are bestowed upon him
#TOMORROW
WILL BE A Stepping into the future;
GOOD DAY what happened next?LESSONS 12
LESSONS
LEARNED
Six communication
insights we can learn
from a story that
changed the history of
1 The power of PR
fundraising 2 Great stories matter
3 Understand the audience
CARMA has taken a deeper look at the key drivers
behind this amazing story. By analysing the
coverage, researching the key data and immersing
4 Traditional media isn’t dead
ourselves in the story, CARMA has identified six key
lessons relevant to all PRs and communication 5 Content is critical
professionals seeking to know more about critical
ingredients of a truly viral news story. 6 Measure well13
“
“We realized that this was about to get really big and that it was a national story as
everyone across the country had fallen in love with Tom.
Tom was offering a beacon of hope to so many people. People were embracing this
positive news story at such a dark time because it was offering so much hope and a
motive to get up and do something. There are so many elements to the story that
captured people’s hearts at a time when they can’t see their own families. ”
- Daisy Craydon
More than 150,000 birthday cards were sent to
Bedford School, where his grandson, Benjie
Ingram-Moore, is a student.LESSONS 14
Tip one:
The power of PR
For years there have been reports that the press friends. Hannah had the original idea to see if the story begins”.
release was dead, media relations’ importance has might be of wider interest to just friends and family
declined and that ultimately the skills of PR and whether it might resonate locally, generating “There was no grand plan, everything was just so
professionals would be subsumed into some form of some regional media interest. She asked Daisy to step organic. It just happened to be the story everybody
marketing conglomerate within organisations. This in. Daisy wrote a press release and on Tuesday April 7 needed at the right time”.
story demonstrates this not to be so. sent it out to her local broadcast and print media
contacts. An initial target of £1,000 was established “People have fallen in love with him and his family.
An idea that was originally conceived as a small for the JustGiving page. Within one hour there had There are so many family elements that resonated,
fundraising initiative for the friends and family of been five regional media requests. living with his family, his children and his
Captain Tom over a family barbecue on Sunday April 5 grandchildren, especially at a time when so many
ended the month by raising over £32 million, people could not see their own”.
“
dominating the news agenda, changing the history of
charitable fundraising in the UK and lifting the spirits Hannah had an idea to go locally and “When he was live on BBC breakfast, we were all
of the nation. after that it went zoom – so quickly. watching the JustGiving and Twitter page. It was at
It was a big surprise. Day after day this moment that we realised that he was such a
It can all be attributed back to one thing: a humble beacon of hope for so many people”.
press release that changed everything. There was no
the money kept coming in.
“
other form of marketing involved or grand strategic Unbelievable.
plan. No advertising, no sponsorship, no ‘sales There was no grand plan, everything
promotion’ or other fundraising efforts. The entire - Captain Tom Moore was just so organic. It just happened
series of events that occurred can be traced back to to be the story everybody needed at
that initial press release, supported by ongoing the right time.
authentic communication, a compelling story, a bone- Within 24 hours Captain Tom would be on national
- Daisy Craydon
fide hero, a strong sense of purpose, and an emotional news and within 48 hours he featured on BBC One’s
pull that resonated with the majority of the BBC Breakfast.
population. What is clear is that without that initial press release,
Daisy takes up the story: this story would never have received the attention
Hannah Ingram-Moore’s business had become Daisy that it did. PR lit the fire, and it was a ‘humble’ press
Craydon’s first client as she embarked on a new career “The family came up with the idea to raise some release that started the flames. But there were some
as a PR freelancer. Daisy had grown up in the same money for the NHS with Captain Tom and they asked other compelling components involved too…
village as Captain Tom’s daughter and the two were me to do a press release. That’s where the storyLESSONS 15
Tip two:
“
I've learned that people will forget
what you said, people will forget
Great stories matter what you did, but people will never
forget how you made them feel.
- Maya Angelou
Storytelling is at the heart of all successful comms and human reassurance in some ways. It’s the classic ‘R’ of
PR campaigns. Done right, it creates an emotional the DRIP model: remind and reassure”.
connection with audiences, triggering thoughts, The public found it easy to connect emotionally with
feelings and behaviours that are incredibly powerful Throughout his journey, Captain Tom conveyed only Captain Tom on several levels. First, his story and
when aligned with an organisation’s objectives. hope and positivity, exemplified by ‘Tomorrow Will Be intentions were authentic. There was a simple and
A Good Day’, which became his catchphrase, a clear purpose, no alternative motives, agenda or ego
Captain Tom’s story had many of the classic elements hashtag and is now the title of his forthcoming so there was no room for people to question him or to
of a great story: a plot, a hero and multiple emotional autobiography. take offense to his actions.
triggers with which the public could connect.
“
People were able to connect with the strength of his
Captain Tom’s walk encapsulated the classic ‘hero’s The whole of my life I’ve been an family unit. Captain Tom lives under one roof with
journey’, in which we find ourselves cheering on a hero optimistic person who believed that three generations of his family. He appeared
embarking on a perilous mission to save the less things would and could get better. frequently with his daughter Hannah whose genuine
fortunate – a plot line that has resonated among emotional delight were reflected by the public.
Things will certainly get better.
readers for millennia. What made Captain Tom even
more special was that he was a returning hero from They’ve always got better…with this The emotional authenticity of the story encouraged
the last great national threat, once more stepping up battle with this unseen enemy, we people to come on the journey with him, cheering on
to play his part despite being a member of the shall win in the end. his achievements as donation after donation were
generation most at risk of serious consequences from achieved.
the virus.
- Captain Tom Moore
Kathryn Ruge, Managing Director at Engaging People
As Catherine Arrow, Executive Director at PR Ltd, points out that “most people had an involuntary
Knowledge Hub sums up, “Captain Tom is not just the Anne-Marie Lacey points out that his positive and immediate empathetic connection with his cause”
hero’s journey incarnate. It’s the hero’s journey messages were “warm, genuine and credible, given because he reminded many of us of one of our own
continued and extended to superhero. He has already he’d lived through the war. This instilled more hope elderly relatives, during a difficult period where we had
endured and now, with great tenacity, he has risen and confidence for the future than any government to socially distance ourselves from them. “His story
once again to the occasion”. messaging”. was simple, authentic, and loaded with purpose. There
were no complicated trappings, no ego, absolutely
Anne-Marie Lacey, MD of Filament PR, builds on this Amazing stories are significantly amplified when they nothing that people could take offence to in the age of
point. With his experience from the last great national also stir authentic emotional resonance with the outrage”.
crisis, Captain Tom was able to “plug the gap for audience. Captain Tom and his family unit did just that.LESSONS 16
Tip two:
Great stories matter
Great stories must be well-timed and appropriate for the winds” , advises Catherine Arrow.
the mood of the audience. Amidst a building
crescendo of bad news, Captain Tom’s story of Authenticity, relevance, emotional connection and
selflessness, optimism and courage came just when timing are critical in PR storytelling. A fantastic story
we needed it most. Many elements of Captain Tom’s without these elements, “is just that a story with no
story resonated perfectly with our circumstances: meaning, you will get found out sooner or later and
lose trust and confidence. It’s a good reminder for
• With VE Day around the corner, the British public’s good audience research and social listening to check
reverence for the heroes of WWII amplified the the mood/climate/landscape and timing is as right as
significance of his story and the nation’s emotional possible before going live with your PR”, concludes
attachment to Captain Tom. Kerry Sheehan, Director of Comms at Verve
• It bridged the gap between our second world war Communications.
heroes, and our new ones from the NHS fighting on
a new ‘front line’ against Coronavirus.
• With the nation and many parts of the world social
distancing, his cause gave us a collective reason to
“
come together just when we were all forced to be
apart.
• His call-to-action to donate coincided during a One little soul like me won't make much
time when people wanted to donate but have been difference. I hope that it does, but it won't will it?
doing less and less themselves to volunteer.
I hope that whatever it (the sum) turns out to be,
All these elements intertwined to make this such a
great story that connected so well with a wide variety
it will be useful. But it won't be enough, they still
of communities. Communications professionals need a lot more money.
should look then for these elements if they too wish to
tell great stories, but there are notes of caution too:
“Try not to simply emulate a ‘Captain Tom’ style - Captain Tom Moore, April 8 2020
storyline – do the work and dig for your own gold.
Trying to hang on to another’s tale will leave you
scrambling in the dust and a reputation scattered toLESSONS 17
Tip three: Don’t forget more traditional research techniques.
Multiple omnibus surveys are available, or
commission your own and don’t neglect the other
Understand your audience market research techniques that are available as
well. At the end of the day if you want to know how
someone is feeling, there is no substitute for asking
them!
Now more than ever, it is vitally important for comms of interest to them, their emotional state, their
pros to have a laser focus on their key audiences. The receptiveness to information, their priorities and Armed with the learnings and insights that your
world is going through rapidly changing concerns. The days of top down communication and research will bring, you can work out how to be
circumstances, which have meant that much of what ‘delivering messages’ from organisation to its relevant, and useful to your audience. Don’t tell
we took for granted before has changed. Media audiences are over. This truly is the era of them what you want to talk about, tell them things
consumption habits have changed significantly in a permission-based marketing. Communicating that your research tells you that they want to hear.
short period of time. The hopes, fears and successfully is more conversational which in turn Being useful, relevant and helpful will ensure you
aspirations of our key audiences have changed means being relevant, timely, helpful and useful. connect emotionally and is more critical now than
significantly too, along with their priorities and ever before if you want to ensure your story
tolerance to irrelevant content. There are multiple techniques available to learn more resonates.
about and understand our audience, some more
Lockdown has meant that different media channels traditional, some involving more recent digital Captain Tom’s story was the result of a fortunate
are being consumed and at different times of day. capabilities. happenstance, occurring at a time when
For example, print has fallen off the cliff on which it coincidentally it could connect with a mass
was already teetering precariously. It has struggled If you’re not listening on social media already, now is audience. There was no research involved – but it
to produce, distribute, and monetise during the a good time to start. If you are, review and refine the struck the right emotional, heart-warming
pandemic. Even where available, in a germ-phobic topics, communities and locations where you are connection that we all needed. A wide variety of our
world there is a reluctance to pick up what many can focussed. Remember that social listening alone will different communities could connect to the
see as ‘unclean’ printed publications. Broadcast has not tell the whole story. Not all of your key audiences strength of the family bond, all the more so as being
seen a significant uptick in consumption across both participate or will be engaging online and where they with our own families was so difficult. We were
radio and TV. Captain Tom’s story, seeded with such are, they may not be projecting a real image of captivated by the authentic emotion of Hannah, his
an emphasis on regional broadcast was able to themselves, but more an aspirational image of how daughter, as she cheered him on. We in turn
capitalise on this new dynamic. Of course, social they’d like to be seen. cheered Captain Tom on. And as his story unfolded,
media interaction is also up significantly lending itself his self-deprecating and humble message of hope,
well to the different hours that people are consuming A great way to delve into what people really think is defiance and strength of purpose was something
the news as they adapt to the lockdown. As a to leverage the power of online search. If people post to which we could all connect.
communications professional, make sure you on social to tell you what they would like you to think
understand how your key audiences’ media about them, they go to search engines to find For most campaigns, you will not be so lucky. Make
consumption habits have changed. information and answers to the questions that are sure therefore you do your research to understand
really concerning them. There are low-cost tools your audience and connect to their mood, feelings,
Research and learn how they’re feeling, the topics that can help you do this research swiftly. interests and emotions.LESSONS 18
Tip four:
Traditional media isn’t dead
A humble press release lit the flame, but traditional Don’t just use one media channel at the expense of
regional media started the fire. another. Captain Tom’s story played out across all of
the communication channels, traditional, print, online,
These days it can be tempting to think that the radio TV and social. The critical thing is to understand
traditional media has lost relevance and to focus your audience’s media consumption habits and go
instead on digital channels alone, but Captain Tom’s where they are. In this case, all media channels were
story shows that to do so would be a mistake. It relevant because Captain Tom Moore’s story spoke to
demonstrated that traditional media remains highly the whole nation. All media channels have a part to
influential. play in a modern integrated campaign.
Broadcast can be an often-overlooked component of To run a successful integrated campaign, you must
media outreach which is a mistake. Since the understand how different media types – media started to emerge with tweets from accounts
lockdown began, broadcast consumption has been regional/national and traditional /digital/social – work such as SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, which
significantly higher than normal. More people together in a symbiotic relationship to generate the shared the story in a Twitter post, moving the story
watching and listening to regional TV and radio helped best results. on from its local audience into an engaged, relevant
contribute to a higher than usual exposure to Captain and supportive veteran community.
Tom’s story which in turn led to greater awareness. As Captain Tom’s story shows us the value of growing
the month unfolded and Captain Tom’s story moved organic local interest first. Traditional media – regional Traditional and social media helped to reach the
from regional media to national media, larger and and broadcast – seeded the story and the higher than masses. But there was another important factor at
larger audiences were involved, helping to keep his normal consumption of radio and TV kept it top of play that appealed to multiple audience categories.
achievements front of mind. mind throughout the entirety of the campaign. Celebrities, sports stars, politicians, comedians, pop
stars, royalty, broadcast journalists and other
It’s clear that traditional media is changing. It is The symbiotic relationship between traditional influencers all promoted and engaged with Captain
constantly being challenged and stressed by evolving broadcast and social media also played a key role in Tom, significantly contributing to the success of this
media consumption habits and economic models. nationalising the campaign. Traditional broadcast campaign. This widespread variety of influential
Before embarking on any PR campaign, it’s important pieces provided engaging content which could be voices, captivated by his story, helped ensure a
not only to understand your audience, but this easily shared and amplified on social. We saw this massive audience across disparate interests and
shifting media landscape too. As we saw in the happen at the beginning prior to Captain Tom Moore’s demographics were exposed to it and moved by its
previous tip, this has been especially true during the appearance on BBC Breakfast. Interest on social protagonist.
pandemic.LESSONS 19
Tip five:
Content is critical
Since the start of the pandemic, the news agenda has Mobile phones and technology have made it easy to Stephen Waddington, MD of Metia summed it up :
been inundated with COVID-19 news to the expense generate and share content. These messages may
of almost everything else. Nine in ten marketers have have lacked high production values but made up for it “Captain Tom’s hero journey as he battled Covid-19
deferred campaigns in response to the pandemic. And with their raw sincerity and emotion. Video content is had a very strong emotional link to the NHS and our
while 79% are creating new messages, these the perfect medium to convey the emotional pull and reverence of second world war veterans. It was a
messages are predominantly COVID-19 related. With authenticity of Captain Tom and his family’s story. heartwarming story that had a strong trigger for social
most of the world in lockdown, the media is struggling media sharing and a particularly clear call to action. It
to generate new and engaging content. Kerry Sheehan commented: “the authentic emotion made for great video and television at a time when
shown by Captain Tom and particularly his daughter - there's very limited original content available”.
The new realities have meant that the production from shock and disbelief, to smiles, laughter and
values that were expected up until recently are no excitement – were also the emotions invoked in the
longer so high. As content is difficult for media to audiences. As his daughter buoyed Captain Tom
“
produce, their appetite for ‘amateur’ content has along, we, in turn, cheered him on.”
increased. At the same time, our acceptance of It was a heartwarming story that had
watching this lower quality content has also increased. Multiple ‘snackable’ pieces of bite-sized content were a strong trigger for social media
We have all become accustomed to streaming produced which were easy to share widely across sharing and a particularly clear call to
content over heavily congested networks. Facetime, different social and digital platforms. Content
action. It made for great video and
Zoom, Houseparty, Skype, etc. have become our new proliferated and echoed across them all from
normal. Lower quality images and sound are accepted. Instagram, to TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, television at a time when there's very
Even Netflix has reduced its streaming quality amidst YouTube, LinkedIn, Vimeo and more. limited original content available.
the pandemic. Now more than ever the news media is
more likely to use interesting ‘amateur’ quality As this content exploded, so too did the donations to - Stephen Waddington
content in its reporting. Audiences in turn are happy the cause. This was no surprise as the whole story and
to engage with and share this content too. all of the content had one very simple call to action –
donate in support the NHS and to do this via Captain
Captain Tom’s story generated many home-made Tom’s Justgiving page. Donations surged as the
messages of congratulations and encouragement content and conversations did.
from a wide variety of celebrities and influencers, all
going through the same lockdown challenges as the
rest of us.LESSONS 20
Tip six:
Measure well
Writing this report, it was hard to resist the national media took an interest and within three days increased significantly, hits to the JustGiving page
temptation to flood it with the massive content- Captain Tom was appearing on national TV news. His followed, followers to Captain Tom’s new Twitter
focussed metrics that it obviously amassed. This is a character attributes and the emotional resonance account likewise, and over 1.5 million of us, from 63
story that truly went ‘viral’ - in a good way - and for all with the UK and latterly global audiences did the rest. countries around the world, contributed a world
the right reasons. There was a huge amount of record amount for a sponsored walk of over £32
content generated by the mainstream media across The measurement story follows a similar linear path. A million.
print, online and broadcast. This in turn led to great idea was seeded and shared with the local
countless ‘potential impressions’ or ‘opportunities to media. Quickly viewing and readership numbers This is the real story of those 24 days in April. This is
see’. Adding in the social and digital media metrics escalated as the story was picked up by national media the true legacy of an incredible man. These then are
would only serve to inflate those large numbers even and got driven into wider engaged communities the numbers that show the awesome power of great
further. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, through social amplification. It spread first nationally communication, PR and a story well told.
LinkedIn, TikTok et al all saw significant content, and then internationally. As the volume of content
sharing and engagement. Likes, shares, retweets, increased, so did the reading and viewing numbers
favourites, etc. were all huge. This report has touched leading to ever greater engagement and awareness, £32.8M
on only a few of these numbers as these output which in turn led to more interest in how to contribute
metrics – often referred to as the vanity metrics - reflected in surges in online search, visits and then
don’t tell the measurement story that matters. ultimately donations to the JustGiving page. The
messaging was very simple and clear – donate to the
The true impact of this campaign is demonstrated by cause. The coverage was relentlessly positive.
the very measurable outcome result that it delivered.
The story is linear – an idea to raise some money from The important insights then are not the exact details
friends and family grew in ambition to include the local of the output metrics alone. The specific ‘counts and
community. A release was crafted and distributed to amounts’ are largely meaningless without context.
the regional media. They found the content to be What matters is their trend, what caused this and then
relevant and resonating with emotional appeal. The what happened as a result. Global search
local media picked it up and covered the story. It then JustGiving page visits
started to escalate, social media came into play, As the coverage exploded and the story escalated, Donations trend
promoting and injecting it into wider and different awareness levels were growing. A story that
relevant communities – SSAFA’s very early tweet resonated at multiple levels with its audience and was
being a great case in point. As the story grew, the timed so well had a clear call to action. Search21
“
Colonel Tom’s fantastic
fundraising broke
records, inspired the
whole country and
provided us all with a
beacon of light through
the fog of coronavirus.
- Prime Minister
Boris JohnsonSPECIAL THANKS 22
SPECIAL We’d like to thank all the expert
THANKS consultants who contributed to CARMA’s
thinking for the PR tips in this report:
Catherine Arrow Stuart Bruce Andy Green Anne-Marie Lacey Emma Leech
Executive Director PR Futurist Director Managing Director Director of Marketing and
PR Knowledge Hub @stuartbruce Story Starts Here Filament PR Communications Nottingham
@caanz and Grow Social Capital @AM_LaceyPR Trent University
CIPR President 2019
@andygreencre8iv
@EmmaJ70
Adam Mack Nicola Osmond-Evans Kathryn Ruge Kerry Sheehan Stephen Waddington
Strategic Communications Head of Communications London Managing Director Director of Comms Managing Director
Consultant & Partners Engaging People Ltd Verve Communications Metia
Plannability @nicola291 @Kathryn_ruge @PRKezza @wadds
@Macka7METHODOLOGY 23
METHODOLOGY
Parameters of the study.
This report reviews and analyses the events of one incredible month in April 2020. It showcases
Captain Tom Moore’s amazing journey and world record breaking fundraising achievements. It
does this by recalling the particularly grave situation that Britain faced at the time, then telling
the story of Captain Tom’s achievements through the lens of the media coverage, social media
interactions and donations to NHS Charites Together that it generated.
It has been written to be a record of those incredible achievements while also providing
educational resource for communications and PR professionals looking to understand what
lessons the sequence of events might hold. We show the national and global impact, analyse
the events that shaped and triggered its success and then draw six important PR lessons for
communications best practice.
CARMA sourced and analysed more than 72,600 global media items and almost 900,000 social
media posts. This was integrated with global search data, website analytics and daily
For more information, please contact: JustGiving donation figures to provide a holistic overview of the month’s achievements.
RICHARD BAGNALL The quantitative results are based on automated analysis and Boolean queries. The time period
Co-managing partner covered is from April 7 2020, the day that the first press release was distributed up to April 30
CARMA International 2020, Captain Tom’s 100th birthday and the day that the JustGiving page was closed.
Email: richard.bagnall@carma.com
Phone: +44 (0)7968 095769 This report was independently conceived, written and produced by CARMA International Ltd. If
you would like to know more information about this report or CARMA’s global media
www.carma.com monitoring and communications evaluation services, please contact Richard Bagnall.24 “ The sun will shine on you again and the clouds will go away.
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