Sue Ryder launches ‘The Empty Chair’ Campaign
GOOD has created The Empty Chair, a winter fundraising appeal, for national bereavement charity, Sue Ryder.
Sue Ryder’s research found that a staggering 70% of people in the UK who are grieving aren’t receiving the support they so desperately need. The nation faces a silent crisis this Christmas. The campaign highlights the increased suffering of those bereaved at Christmas – a time when the absence of loved ones is much more evident.
The death of a loved one is difficult at any time, but at Christmas, it can be much more painful and evident. As people gather together, an empty chair can seem even more empty. One less place set at the table even more heartbreaking. The Empty Chair campaign asks the nation for support to help fill the life of someone grieving with kindness, care and support.
GOOD has created and delivered press and social ads, photography for a Direct Mail campaign – all with striking photography and emotive copy around the Empty Chair. There are three executions of the press ad, which will run across national newspapers in the lead-up to Christmas. The social campaign will run across Facebook and Instagram. This runs alongside Sue Ryder’s PR activity in Leeds, with an empty dining table to highlight the places left behind by fourteen different loved ones.
The campaign aims to drive donations for Sue Ryder’s bereavement support services, including training for expert counsellors and funding for Family Support Teams who provide practical and emotional grief support in Sue Ryder’s hospices.
Empty Chair exists for people like Jennie, whose husband Dom died in the care of a Sue Ryder hospice in 2020. Sue Ryder’s Family Support Team have supported Jennie since; her message to those who are facing their first Christmas without a loved one: “be willing to let other people help you”.
Bryn Attewell, Executive Creative Director at GOOD says “The empty chair is a poignant symbol of grief, but it is also a powerful truth that reflects the very real experience of thousands of people this Christmas. It was also a rare privilege to be able to create full-page, story-led press ads as part of the campaign, allowing us to explore the complex feelings associated with grief in a very human and emotional way.”
Angela Cummings, Deputy Director of Marketing, Communications and Digital Services at Sue Ryder, says “The Empty Chair concept has resonated with our audience, especially those who have an experience of bereavement. This concept is particularly poignant around
Posted by Katie Daley
