Local Charity Gets Advertising Boost from Bright Young Sparks

A local disability charity has launched its first ever national advertising campaign thanks to some bright spark students from Ulster University and the generosity of the local creative and media industries.  Brain Injury Matters supports children, adults and families affected by acquired brain injury across Northern Ireland.  All of its funding is currently poured directly into services, meaning that the charity has never been able to afford to advertise and reach new people… until now.  This week, the charity has launched a new multi-media advertising campaign, created by some of the brightest creative minds on Ulster University’s undergraduate Communications Advertising and Marketing, and Graphic Design and Illustration courses.  Earlier this year they took part in a competition run by PANI, the Publicity Association of Northern Ireland, to create a charity advertising campaign.  Brain Injury Matters was selected as the charity partner for the competition and the teams of students were partnered up with local advertising agencies to come up with their own creative campaign.  After a fiercely competitive pitch process, first year students Connor, Rachel, Sam and Rebecca, working under the guidance of Belfast-based Genesis Advertising were crowned as the winning campaign. This week, the campaign is going live on billboards, bus shelters, on air, online and in print across Northern Ireland.  Gerard Anderson, Chief Executive of Brain Injury Matters said,   “The winning campaign focused on the theme of ‘lost’ – it really resonated with us, as it’s a word we often hear from people affected by brain injuries, their partners, parents and loved ones. A brain injury can leave someone feeling really alone. They feel like they’ve lost a piece of themselves, their life as they’d imagined, or their identity. ‘Lost’ is a really powerful word that struck a strong emotional response when we saw this campaign.