Community club fundraising event
Building a community to support the community
The Great Highnam Court Run is a community event organised by the local cricket club. The cricket club have hosted the event in previous years but had not taken place since 2018. The club wanted to raise funds to help pay for crucial upgrades to the pavillion - a community asset open to local people throughout the season as well as being a place that supports physical activity for young people through the Dynamos and All Stars programme. The club aimed to boost participation, generate sponsorship, and use the money to support club development, improve facilities, and expand opportunities for runners of all ages.
The Brief
Highnam Court Cricket Club needed support promoting the return of the Great Highnam Court Run - a community event held in the rarely accessible private grounds of Highnam Court. The goal was to raise awareness, drive sign-ups across the 5K, 10K and Canicross categories, attract local media interest, and clearly communicate event details, while emphasising that proceeds would help improve facilities for the wider community.
The Approach
A focus on story telling and community engagement.
This project required a variety of different tactics - many of which aimed to raise awareness of the event as it had not taken place for many years. The run was one of many that took place in the area at the time so to make it stand out, I focused on building a clear, compelling story around the uniqueness of the venue and the community impact. I shaped consistent messaging across all channels, adjusted tone depending on the audience, and ensured every communication had a clear call to action. Practical details were made simple and reassuring to reduce barriers to registering.
Raising awareness and reputation
We ran an awareness campaign using paid Meta ads and local advertising, designing all visuals and copy myself. Alongside this, I created a poster campaign for community spaces and sports venues, ensuring the event was visible online and offline and building consistent recognition across Gloucestershire.
PR and Direct Outreach
We used targeted PR and outreach, developing stories and pitching to local newspapers, radio and online publications. I contacted running clubs and activity groups directly, encouraging them to share the event and take part, helping build credibility, interest and word-of-mouth momentum.
Email Marketing
I maximised engagement through the club’s existing channels, supporting email marketing to members and the wider community, as well as clear communications for ticket-holders. These updates kept people informed, excited and more likely to share, reinforcing awareness alongside paid advertising and PR activity.
Examples
The following examples give an overview of the type of materials used to support ongoing communications and marketing activity. They illustrate the tone, structure and approach that will help build visibility and consistency across all channels.
Poster campaign
To raise awareness within the local community, a key audience for the event, I developed a poster campaign for the run which were then displayed across the village and in local facilities and businesses.
Targeted media
To increase awareness with a wider community, I engaged with a number of local media outlets such as BBC Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire Live and Dean Forest Radio, securing an interview which focused on promoting the run and the club.
Paid social media ads
As the run had not taken place for many years, social media followers for the run had plummeted. To ensure the run was as visible as possible, I set up paid ads on Facebook and Instagram which would be visible to our target audience.
Direct Outreach
Directly contacting running clubs and other local cricket teams were a key aspect of this campaign. By engaging with clubs who were already established, we could engage a larger number of people who were already interested in running as well as resonating with the cause.
Results
155 runners took part
90% of runners were not aware of the run prior to this campaign
Coverage on local radio
a 20 minute interview with potential reach of 200,000 listeners
