Carat has been honoured at the prestigious Campaign Media Awards, taking home the win in the Media Partnerships - Budget over £250K category and receiving a highly commended recognition in the Corporate and Utilities category for our innovative work with Co-op Funeralcare.
Award-Winning "Celebrity Send-off" Campaign Breaks Funeral Planning Taboos
The "Celebrity Send Off" campaign tackled one of society's most persistent taboos – discussing funeral wishes and planning. With research showing that 50% of people in the UK have never discussed their funeral wishes with loved ones, Carat and Co-op Funeralcare identified a significant opportunity to create meaningful change through an innovative media strategy.
Our approach centred on creating authentic, engaging content that would resonate with audiences while handling a sensitive subject with the appropriate balance of humour and respect. By partnering with Channel 4, we developed a concept featuring Happy Mondays' Bez and Shaun Ryder planning each other's funerals, highlighting the challenges and sometimes amusing misunderstandings that can occur when funeral wishes aren't discussed in advance.
Multi-Platform Media Strategy Delivers 30 Million Impressions
The campaign execution spanned multiple platforms to maximize reach and engagement:
- Three ten-minute hero episodes debuted on YouTube
- Content was strategically seeded across Meta and TikTok
- The series was made available on All4
- 30-second TV advertisements ran on Channel 4 linear television
- Co-op's own network amplified the campaign messaging
This comprehensive approach ensured the campaign reached diverse audiences through their preferred channels, delivering more than 30 million impressions overall.
Campaign Delivers 58% Increase in Brand Awareness and Behavioural Change
Beyond the impressive reach, the campaign delivered meaningful impact, with total brand communication awareness increasing by 58%. Most importantly, 63% of people exposed to the campaign reported feeling more comfortable discussing their funeral wishes – the exact behavioural change Co-op Funeralcare was hoping to achieve.
This campaign exemplifies Carat's commitment to creating media experiences that go beyond traditional advertising to address real human needs and drive meaningful cultural conversations.
Strategic Channel 4 Partnership Key to Award-Winning Campaign Success
Central to the campaign's success was our strategic partnership with Channel 4, whose audience and platform capabilities aligned perfectly with our campaign objectives. This collaboration allowed us to create content that felt authentic to the Channel 4 audience while delivering on Co-op Funeralcare's communication objectives.
The Campaign Media Awards recognition validates our approach to developing innovative, channel-appropriate solutions that address challenging briefs with creativity and sensitivity.
This award-winning work demonstrates Carat's ability to tackle difficult subjects, create meaningful media partnerships, and deliver measurable results for our clients. We're proud of our team's accomplishment and grateful to Co-op Funeralcare for their trust and collaboration on this groundbreaking campaign.
The success of "Celebrity Send Off" reinforces our commitment to creating media experiences that make a difference – not just for our clients' businesses but for the audiences we reach and the conversations we help to start.
You can take a look at the full list of winners here.
