We use our ability to reach massive audiences on a national scale to make a significant difference to our society.
Our strength is in how we use airtime and brands. We can inspire a change in thinking and behaviour on a mass scale by sharing, entertaining and empowering viewers to make a difference.
Our aim is to use the combined power of our well-known channel and programme brands for maximum impact, to amplify chosen causes or campaigns across the year. It's important that we balance our activity between fundraising and social action to give all our viewers the opportunity to get involved and make a difference in some way across the year.
Below are some examples of our key campaigns from 2012:
Get Britain Reading
Daybreak's Get Britain Reading campaign in February really captured the attention of viewers and celebrities alike. With the backing from all the political party leaders and over 100 famous faces, ITV's Daybreak collected thousands of books around the UK in designated book banks. In addition the programme inspired around 15 thousand Daybreak viewers go online to take the 10 minute pledge.
The programme ran a follow up feature 6 months on from the campaign to show viewers how their engagement had made a difference. Impacts included funds for schools such as Sandbrook, where money raised by Get Britain Reading has built an amazing library for the pupils and in Glasgow, one school who hadn't had a new book for more than 40 years now have a room full of new titles.
Get Britain Reading is just one of many campaigns Daybreak ran in 2012 to inspire viewers to make a difference. To find out more about other campaigns including 'Superhero Friday' which was part of awareness and fundraising for Children's Hospice week, visit our latest news items.
Soccer Aid
ITV have continued to be a partner in Soccer Aid, which raises funds for the international children's charity UNICEF. Once every two years since 2006, ITV has broadcast a charity football match between celebrities and football legends. In 2012, we continued our commitment of donating air-time for the match, lead up programmes and promotions, but have invested considerable amount of time and effort into the wider appeal - helping build awareness and donations for UNICEF. Our support included:
- National and regional coverage of Soccer Aid. Utilising our programme brands to help promote the appeal, report on events and encourage donations.
- 175 ITV colleagues volunteering their time to take donations for the Soccer Aid event as part of ITV's volunteer scheme.
- ITV hosting a designated call centre. Resourced internally, and with technical support from Accenture and the loan of 60 Chrome Books from Google, ITV was able to create a temporary call center. The 100 seated facility was made possible through ITV's new agile and 'flexi-desk' approach to working, following on from a technology refresh to mainly Apple Mac technology.
- National and Regional support for UNICEF's 'Keep it Up for Soccer Aid' campaign - encouraging everyone to get involved. Using the power of our brands, and support from colleagues, ITV has helped to raise awareness of the campaign and taken part directly. More details on this support can be found here.
In 2010, in excess of £2.8 million was raised for the charity and it has already been confirmed this year's appeal has smashed that total, taking the appeal's accumulative total to over £10 million for UNICEF. This year's actual donation's raised, and ITV's part in this, will be published once officially confirmed by the charity.
For more information, visit UNICEF's website
Twitter: @Socceraid
Malaria No More!
Through I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, we used our reach to a large audience to raise awareness about the serious threat malaria poses to health in many developing countries, and generate funds for the charity Malaria No More UK. Since 2009, the show has promoted the charity through a combination of on-air mentions, print and online coverage.
We also contributed 15p per paid phone vote cast. This equated to 48% of the phone voting revenue from the programme in 2012 being donated to the charity. Funds raised have been used to help support a mosquito net distribution partnership in Ghana. ITV's funding has supported local volunteers with equipment and education tools to help them hang and educate their communities on how to use these nets to best effect.
For more information on impact and support visit Malaria No More's website.
Text Santa
ITV's flagship Charity appeal, Text Santa will return again in 2013. Starting as a pilot in 2011 (raising £4.16 million), the appeal raised over £5.2 million for UK charities in 2012.
The appeal aims to change the lives of those most vulnerable in our UK communities through the work of selected charities
Text Santa doesn't just aim to raise money, it provides a platform for the chosen charities to showcase to their services and practical they support they offer in their communities. Our aim is to create sustainable partnerships between our viewers and the charities beyond the appeal.
Click here to find out more about the appeal, the impacts it has and how the charities involved have invested the funds raised.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)
ITV News has been a broadcast partner for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) for over 40 years. When a large-scale international crisis strikes we script, voice, edit and broadcast a three-minute national television appeal, without charge, to publicise the situation and raise funds.
