Looking back at the year that was, Fundraising asked top bloggers in the sector to describe their favourite campaigns of 2013. Lucy Caldicott picked Bristol Children's Hospital's Gromit Unleashed. 

One of the charity campaigns that I enjoyed during 2013 was Gromit Unleashed. Put together by Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal, Gromit was unleashed to raise funds for Bristol Children’s Hospital expansion appeal.

Eighty specially designed Gromits popped up all over Bristol during the summer. Designers came from a range of different artistic fields, including fine art, design, illustration, music and theatre, and included big names such as Quentin Blake, Paul Smith, Raymond Briggs, Joanna Lumley, and Zayn Malik. The Gromits were in place in different parts of Bristol from 1 July to 8 September. Thousands of local people and visitors got involved in trying to visit all 80 Gromits, and there was also the opportunity to purchase merchandise and follow online. At the end of the summer the Gromits were exhibited at a special pop-up exhibition – which people queued round the block to get into – and they were finally auctioned off at an event in October. The grand total raised was £2.4m. So what did I like about it?

Clearly, themed charity auctions aren’t particularly new. My parents bought a dragon at a St George’s Day dinner in the mid-1970s which hung from our kitchen ceiling for many dusty years!

There were a few aspects of this project that stood out for me, though.

Aardman, the animation company that created Wallace and Gromit, is rooted in Bristol. The founders set up the company in Bristol in 1976. I like that they focus their charitable support on a local charity which has raised £21m over 16 years. This campaign was a great way to refresh that long-term support, while celebrating the spirit of Bristol and encouraging people to explore the city. I have many colleagues who live in Bristol and they took their kids to visit the Gromits in parts of the city they wouldn’t usually come across.

From a fundraising perspective too it’s a clever idea, with many money-making spin-offs. Each Gromit creates multiple income generation channels: corporate sponsorship, the auction itself, and the entry fee to visit them in the exhibition at the end of the campaign. In addition, there was local media awareness and an active presence on Twitter which is where I originally heard about it. Hand-painted mini designer Gromits were also on sale in a pop-up shop and online. These have become highly sought-after and some of the designs have sold out very quickly, further increasing the buzz around the campaign.

Lucy Caldicott is director of fundraising at Clic Sargent. She blogs at lucycaldicott.com  

Other bloggers’ favourite campaigns were:

British Red Cross legacy campaign by Stephen George
Cancer Research UK’s Dryathlon by Lisa Clavering
Friends of the Earth’s Bee Cause by Craig Linton
World Cancer Research Fund annual campaign by Mark Phillips