British Heart Foundation - Driving Awareness and Engagement for BHF Events Through TikTok
Activating a TikTok audience for BHF events
The Challenge
The British Heart Foundation sought to increase awareness and participation in its event portfolio by leveraging TikTok, a previously unused platform for paid media campaigns. Our key challenge was reaching a younger, more physically active audience that was less present on traditional platforms like Meta. We needed to bring a TikTok-first creative approach while staying loyal to BHF brand guidelines and messages. The BHF relied on our expertise to craft a strategy that could drive visibility, community engagement and website traffic within a month-long testing period.
The Insight
Our analysis of the BHF’s recent learnings revealed that social media continues to be their most effective and efficient channel for driving awareness and event sign-ups. TikTok, as a growing platform, presented an opportunity to reach a younger audience in a location where they naturally spend more time online. Our findings from other client work on this platform indicated that short, visually engaging videos with a strong hook within the first six seconds tend to perform best on the platform. These insights shaped our approach to testing four varying creative formats.
The Solution
We developed a collection of four 15-second TikTok videos using existing BHF footage, with the creative output formed around the following concepts:
Spend the Day with Us: A video showcasing the London to Brighton Off-Road Bike Ride through the lens of participants. This narrative used TikTok’s popular “Spend the Day with Me” format to create immersive and informative content about the event itself.
POV: Be Part of Something Bigger: A dynamic montage of smiling participants and uplifting event footage designed to spark intrigue and encourage participation. Our aim was to interrupt the user's For You page with joy, capturing emotion and generating a desire to be part of something empowering.
3 Things to Know About Joining Team BHF:A listicle-style video outlining the event portfolio, the support available and the inclusive, welcoming nature of BHF events. This format aimed to inform without overloading, and to generate just enough interest and intrigue to encourage clickthroughs.
And I Took That Personally: A trend-inspired video built around the viral “And I Took That Personally” meme. With a short recap of the event from a participant's perspective, it presented the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim as a challenge, motivating viewers to take it on for themselves. Each video was crafted to hook viewers within the first six seconds and optimised for TikTok’s 9:16 format. The campaign leveraged TikTok’s in-feed auction placement, targeting a prospecting audience aged 18+ with interests in sports and the outdoors. Collaborating closely with the BHF team, we developed fresh narratives using pre-existing assets. Though feedback loops, we iterated and refined our storyboards and video edits, aligning creative direction with brand guidelines and campaign objectives.
