Testing, Learning and Growing with Bowel Cancer UK

Working with the team at Bowel Cancer UK this year has been an absolute pleasure, not only because of the results, but because of the mindset behind them.

When a charity is willing to test new approaches, learn quickly, and trust the data, digital activity becomes significantly more impactful. This openness has shaped a collaborative partnership throughout 2025, and it is laying the groundwork for an ambitious 2026.

This test-and-learn culture has enabled us to support multiple fundraising and engagement streams, each with strong, measurable outcomes that now inform future strategy.

Christmas Shop 🎄

The Christmas Shop campaign has delivered exceptional performance across both Meta and Google Ads, achieving a 430% return since launching.

The strength of this activity has given them the confidence to explore a year-round shopping strategy in 2026. This ensures supporters have consistent opportunities to engage and convert.

Great North Run & Cardiff Marathon  🏃‍♂️

Both events sold out in record time. The uplift in registrations aligned closely with campaign activity going live, and we paused ads early once capacity was reached.

While wider running trends undoubtedly contributed, the impact of targeted digital activation was clear.

Community Fundraising 🤗

For the first time, Community Fundraising and Own Place Runs were promoted digitally. The results far exceeded expectations:

• 280% of the Community Fundraising target and
• 155% of the Own Place Runs target

Altogether, this clearly demonstrated the potential of digital to unlock new audiences

Legacy Campaigns 📜

As a result Meta’s tracking limitations, we shifted to lead form ads, generating 116 leads and contributing to a healthy pipeline of will-writing referrals. This approach is now secured as a core part of next year’s legacy strategy.

Knit Campaign Test 🧶

A new knitting initiative was tested using four creative concepts. This early activity achieved CTR averages around 1.8% and almost 500 sign-ups within two weeks.

Consequently, this gave us clear learnings on audience targeting and creative direction for 2026.

The Takeaway

The first thing to remember is to be willing to test and learn.

This year has shown how powerful digital can be when a charity embraces experimentation and insight. With strong momentum in place, we are excited for everything we will build together in 2026.

The Farrer Charity Programme is committed to helping charities maximise their impact through paid media. If you’d like to discuss your current strategy or anything covered in this post, we’d be happy to help.

Book a call with Ollie