Graham Allsopp, Managing Director of award-winning video marketing agency Ark Media Group, shares his thoughts on why video marketing is so important to charities and how the work his company has done in the sector has really made a difference
At Ark Media Group, we’re proud to have helped many charities tell their stories and raise awareness through video marketing. We’re as aware as anyone that the charity sector is facing a difficult time, from falling income to inflationary pressures, and increased competition for funding in what is an incredibly busy sector. With around 170,000 registered charities in the UK, it is harder than ever to get noticed, which is why our charity partners enlist our help to really capture people’s attention and get their message across in a way that resonates.
Research suggests that viewers retain 95% of a message when it’s delivered through video, compared to only 10% with text, so using video to bring stories to life is a no-brainer when it comes to making sure your charity’s story stick in people’s minds. On top of that, video can be repurposed, shared and used to shout about what you’re doing, whether that’s looking for potential beneficiaries, fundraising or sharing stories of the work you’ve done.
We believe in building partnerships and have longstanding relationships with a range of charities, all of whom have seen the benefit of using video marketing to really reach their target audience and produce tangible results to help them achieve their aims. This isn’t just about creating videos for the sake of it, but capturing people’s attention and ensuring the profile of the charity we’re supporting is raised.
Fundraising boost
Take Acorns Children’s Hospice. We’ve worked with Acorns for the last few years and produced a documentary telling the story of their Sahara Trek fundraiser. That documentary raised awareness and encouraged donations which eventually reached £115,000. Following our video, the next event sold out within weeks, helping maintain Acorns’ revenue stream. Acorns’s Events Manager, Kate Vousden, said: “[Ark’s] efforts in capturing this trip of a lifetime on camera helped us bring it to life in a way that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible, the footage highlighted how storytelling is vital to us as a charity.” We also recently produced a video for the charity’s ‘Acorns ‘This Town’ Gala Dinner’, filming and editing on the night so they could roll it out on their social media channels the very next day, with CEO Trevor Johnson saying: “the partnership with Ark Media Group really helps us bring events like this to life”.
Helping save lives
Another of our longstanding partnerships is with the UK Sepsis Trust, who we’ve worked with for several years. We produced an award-winning mini documentary to raise awareness for Sepsis in the agricultural community. The impact of the film was far-reaching and quite literally life-saving – prompting someone who was unwell to seek medical attention and discover that they had actually contracted Sepsis.
Raising awareness
We’ve worked with the YMCA for around a decade now, and have partnered with YMCA (Sutton Coldfield) and YMCA One. The videos we’ve produced for them have received great feedback, and our ongoing partnership means we can continue to build on this. Airplay Programme Manager, Heidi Bentley, at YMCA One said: “We are really impressed with how the project turned out, we’ve had great feedback so far, and are very excited to share the video.”
Similarly, we have worked with the Royal Sutton Fun Run for the last two years. Last year we filmed the event and produced a highlights video for the organisation to release afterwards, and this year we are sponsoring the event, demonstrating our commitment to the charities we partner with in more ways than simply meeting the brief of their video marketing requirements.
Ultimately our services help charities tell their stories and get their message out there, contributing to building awareness and helping raise funds. We have helped elevate perceptions of charity, providing organisations with glossy, eye-catching video content that truly ‘wows’ their audiences.
We value our charity partnerships and have helped our charity clients achieve tangible results by telling their stories effectively through video – something that’s more important than ever in 2025.
