MS Awareness Week is one of the awareness days brands use to get on radio and TV. Relations Group has run 5 broadcast PR campaigns for it, for MS Trust, MS Trust, MS Trust, MS Trust and MS Trust. The coverage ran to 142 broadcast items, heard by a combined audience of 36.1 million. Coverage included BBC Radio Scotland, London Live, BBC Radio Wales, ITV East Anglia, BBC Radio Three Counties and more. Every campaign met or beat its coverage budget.
142Items of coverage
36.1 millionCombined reach
13h 53mTime on air
121Distinct outlets
Coverage highlights
BBC Radio ScotlandBBC radio
London LiveTV
BBC Radio WalesBBC radio
ITV East AngliaTV
BBC Radio Three CountiesBBC radio
BBC Radio NottinghamBBC radio
Sky News RadioNational news network
Sky News TVTV
ITV YorkshireTV
Radio News HubNational news network
BBC East Midlands TodayTV
BBC Radio DevonBBC radio
BBC Radio SolentBBC radio
BBC Radio LeedsBBC radio
BBC Radio DerbyBBC radio
Northsound 1Commercial radio
Greatest Hits Radio South WestCommercial radio
Northsound 2Commercial radio
BBC Radio LeedsBBC radio
BBC Radio ShropshireBBC radio
Listen
Sky News TV · 0m 00s
BBC Radio Solent · 7m 21s
0:00 / 7m 21s
BBC Radio Derby · 9m 12s
0:00 / 9m 12s
The campaigns
MS Trust, MS Awareness Week
The aim
MS Trust wanted to show the impact the lack of accessible specialist care is having on the everyday lives of people with MS.
The message
The MS Trust is the only charity working with the NHS to place extra MS specialists where they are needed most, and its information service is a lifeline for people with MS.
The angle
A new MS Trust report found 88% of people with multiple sclerosis feel unable to cope and 94% say it has affected their mental health, while a national shortage of 149 MS nurses leaves thousands without the specialist care they need.
On air
The charity's chief executive
The result
7 items of coverage reaching 8.4 million, including Sky News TV, BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Radio Shropshire.
MS Trust wanted to highlight the toll lockdown took on people with MS and make the case for getting MS services fully back up and running.
The message
Lockdown hit the mental health of people with MS hard, so restoring MS services quickly matters.
The angle
A survey found 54% of people with MS had felt anxious or hopeless in the past month and 23% felt their mental health needs were going unmet after a year of lockdown, as MS services were starting to recover.
On air
The chief executive of the MS Trust
The result
13 items of coverage reaching 1.7 million, including BBC Radio Solent, BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Radio Derby, Northsound 1.
New research found 53% of people with MS in the UK feel their mental health needs are not met by health professionals. 72% felt anxious or depressed for more than several days a month, and 47% did not know these can be symptoms of MS.
On air
The charity's chief executive
The result
68 items of coverage reaching 5.9 million, including Sky News Radio and Radio News Hub.
MS Trust wanted to raise awareness of the challenges facing young people with MS, promote MSTV and raise funds.
The message
Young people with MS often feel confused, scared and powerless. MSTV, the MS Trust's new YouTube channel, aims to give them the knowledge, skills and confidence to take on MS today.
The angle
MS is affecting more and more young people, yet there is too little accessible information to help them understand the condition. During MS Awareness Week the MS Trust launched MSTV, a new YouTube channel for young people.
The result
32 items of coverage reaching 15.8 million, including Sky News Radio, Sky News TV, ITV Yorkshire, Radio News Hub.
MS Trust wanted to raise awareness of the charity and highlight the difference specialist nurses make to people with MS.
The message
That year marked 25 years of MS specialist nursing in the UK. The charity wanted to celebrate the nurses' work and, with public help, make sure no one has to manage MS alone.
The angle
During MS Awareness Week, research showed MS is still widely misunderstood: one in five people did not know what MS stands for and almost 70% were unaware of the major symptoms.
On air
The MS Trust's specialist nurse programme manager
The result
22 items of coverage reaching 4.4 million, including BBC Radio Scotland, London Live, BBC Radio Wales, ITV East Anglia.
MS Awareness Week is run in the UK by the MS Society together with the MS Trust, MS-UK, Shift.ms and other MS charities. It aims to improve understanding of multiple sclerosis and to challenge assumptions about living with it. It usually takes place in late April. For brands and charities with something useful to say, it gives radio and TV producers a timely reason to book an interview.
Planning MS Awareness Week for 2027?
MS Awareness Week usually runs in late April. Talk to the team about a broadcast PR campaign that gets your spokesperson on radio and TV.
