British Heart Foundation Appoints Wunderman Thompson UK as CRM Agency Partner

Integrated marketing agency Wunderman Thompson UK has won the below-the-line account for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and will work with the charity as its sole CRM agency, following a competitive pitch.

The BHF funds around £100m of vital research each year into heart and circulatory diseases and its risk factors. Wunderman Thompson will be responsible for partnering with the BHF on devising a new CRM strategy across all customer journey touchpoints, allowing them to send more personalised and relevant content to the charity’s customers, with the first stage of work expected to break this spring. 

Wunderman Thompson’s appointment follows an internal reorganisation at the BHF, where the charity brought together its previously separate fundraising, marketing and communications teams into one team.

The charity previously used several different agencies for its below-the-line work, and this new appointment reflects the BHF’s aim to build a more integrated model, with Wunderman Thompson working collaboratively with BHF’s lead media and creative agencies, PHD and Saatchi&Saatchi.

Christiaan Lette, chief data officer at Wunderman Thompson UK said: “We’re thrilled to be working with the BHF on their new CRM strategy and creative. The alignment of their fundraising and brand teams enables a more integrated marketing approach, greater marketing effectiveness and operational efficiency. We can’t wait to get started and make the British Heart Foundation matter more, to more people, whilst supporting life-saving research.”

Leah Mates, director of marketing, mass fundraising & engagement at the BHF said: “The British Heart Foundation funds groundbreaking research to save and improve the lives of the 7.6 million people and their loved ones affected by heart and circulatory diseases in the UK;  and we rely completely on donations to fund that research. We wanted an agency partner that could help us create communications that resonate with our customers, as well as being a force for integration in how we use first-party customer data. a We were really impressed with Wunderman Thompson’s credentials, and look forward to seeing the impact we can deliver together whilst on our CRM transformation journey.”

Pip Hulbert, CEO of Wunderman Thompson UK, commented: “We’re excited to be partnering with British Heart Foundation and bringing their communications to life, not least because we sit in neighbouring offices! We look forward to using our CRM and data expertise to drive even more effective communications for the charity.”