WHAT?
Yasper took on its first pro bono client in Summer 2025, supporting the Row4MND crew in the first of four increasingly complex ocean rowing challenges, in support of the fight against Motor Neurone Disease.
The crew, which included highly experienced ocean rowers, ultimately aim to raise £57m for the cause (this figure is significant because the number five represents the shirt number of Doddie Weir, and the number seven represents Rob Burrow – rugby players from the two different codes who have succumbed to this cruel disease).
At the outset, we applied the same rigour and dedication to the client as we would any other, but it was clear from the start that we would need to be dynamic in how we achieved the crew’s twin objectives: to raise both awareness and funds.
When we met with the founding crew members, we interrogated the mission and its objectives. Given a relatively short lead-time, we knew that we would need to leverage our strong relationships with the press in order to tell this important story.
Our strategy included ensuring the highest quality photography possible, to get across the scale and complexity of the first challenge – to circumnavigate half of the British coastline. During the trip, the crew would experience complex weather conditions, including winds and tides, as well as navigating traffic in these busy coastal waters.
Despite carefully planning every minute detail of the challenge, one thing the crew didn’t count on was having to deal with a media storm rather than a meteorological one. That’s exactly what happened when a sitting MP misidentified the crew as a ‘migrant dinghy’ off the Norfolk coast, focusing the attention of the world’s media on the crew.
HOW?
RESULTS
1003
pieces of individual coverage
BBC Breakfast
live on the sofa interview secured
£40k raised
in the fight against MND
Despite already having achieved over 300 pieces of print, online and broadcast coverage for the crew before the MP incident, it was clear that this was a huge opportunity to shine a further light on their challenge.
Within an hour of the MP’s tweet, we had already engaged with warm contacts at national news agencies and a national tabloid. In this situation, acting quickly and with agility is crucial, and as such, we knew we needed to gain traction for the story.
Over the following 72 hours, we organised interviews with BBC News, ITV Good Morning Britain, GB News, Times Radio, BBC Radio 4 and Sky News. We achieved a total of 1,003 pieces of coverage across print, digital and broadcast, including a front page on Saturday’s Daily Star newspaper. Over the period, fundraising was boosted by approximately £40,000.
