Military vs Cancer, Field Gun Pull

Background

Military vs Cancer set out to raise awareness and funds through the extraordinary challenge of pulling a 1-tonne Field Gun from John O’Groats to Land’s End, over 1,000 miles on foot. A total of 1,300 military personnel, veterans, and volunteers took part, with teams taking on this gruelling test of endurance to support the charity’s mission.

Brief

We were tasked with raising awareness during the final weeks of the challenge to increase visibility and make a national impact, while highlighting the work of Military vs Cancer. The team wanted coverage that showcased the charity’s efforts to alleviate the effects of cancer for serving personnel, veterans, and their immediate families.

Cancer affects many within the Armed Forces community, and Military vs Cancer is dedicated to providing direct support to those who need it most. This challenge demonstrated what can be achieved when people come together with determination and purpose.

The team also wanted local communities to know when the challenge would be passing through their area, encouraging support and engagement along the route.

Strategy

The Sway PR team rolled out a dynamic media strategy to maximise coverage and visibility for the Military vs Cancer challenge.

Regional press releases were sent for every town and city the team passed through, featuring local participants and their personal connections to the challenge. These human-interest stories created a strong regional hook, with interview opportunities offered to local broadcast stations.

National press releases and interviews were timed around key moments, highlighting the challenge as a ‘world first’ and its wider charitable purpose.

To build a momentous finish, media were invited to witness the team cross the line, with interviews and scheduling designed to maximise coverage and create a memorable finale.

Key elements included:

• Regional media- localised human-interest stories and interviews to engage communities
• National media- press releases and interviews highlighting scale and charitable impact
• Finish-line activity- media invited to witness the team and capture the finale

The strategy targeted a wide audience, from the general public to veterans and potential fundraisers, ensuring the challenge’s stories reached those who would connect most. Despite constantly changing routes, we kept local media informed in advance and carefully planned spokespeople for each location.

We engaged international, national and regional print, online and broadcast media, including veteran-focused outlets, to maximise reach and impact.

Outcome

Coverage of the incredible Military vs Cancer 1-Tonne Field Gun Challenge helped raise significant funds for the charity. Sway PR over 80 pieces of coverage across offline, online and social media, reaching a combined audience of over 1 billion. This included 13 broadcast features and 59 online articles, with highlights including BBC Online, Yahoo! News, BBC Spotlight, ITV News Calendar, and ITV West Country.

The impact of this coverage has been huge: over £110,000 has been raised to date, supporting the Military vs Cancer team in alleviating the effects of cancer for military personnel, past and present, and their immediate families.

A word from the client

Graeme McCabe, Events Manager at Military vs Cancer, said:

“Working with Sway PR was a game-changer for Military vs Cancer. From day one, Mark and Vicky gave us absolute confidence that we’d chosen the right team. Their professionalism, expertise, and passion shone through in every interaction.

Our goal was ambitious, Sway helped us smash it, raising £1,000 per day in the final four weeks. The press coverage they secured, both locally and nationally, was beyond anything we could have imagined.

We wouldn’t hesitate to work with Sway again and strongly recommend Mark, Vicky, and the team to anyone looking for results that truly make an impact.”