The Challenge

Blood Cancer UK had developed brand campaign creative (1 video, 3 static/carousel ads) with an agency, validated positively with warm internal audiences — but needed evidence it would resonate with cold audiences unfamiliar with the charity, ahead of their first-ever national brand awareness investment. The subject matter required trauma-informed research design given participants’ personal experience of a serious illness.

The Outcome

Found the video consistently the most emotionally resonant and authentic, setting a high bar against which the static ads were judged more critically, surfacing specific concerns (loaded language, reliance on visual shorthand, unclear calls-to-action) that fed directly into the next creative iteration ahead of the September campaign launch.

The Approach

As the assigned Askable+ Certified Researcher, shaped the research design from kickoff, including revising the participant screening logic to account for the fact many people don’t recognise their specific diagnosis (leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma) as “blood cancer.” Ran 8 short moderated interviews with participants affected by blood cancer (personal diagnosis, family, or close friends), testing reactions across 4 ad concepts. Delivered same-day “red flag” summaries after each pair of interviews so the client could catch problems early against a tight campaign timeline. Adapted presentation order mid-fieldwork to control for the video ad’s strong emotional impact skewing perception of the static ads.