RNLI.
Bringing the RNLI to families who'd never met a lifeboat.
RNLI wanted to raise awareness and grow membership beyond its traditional coastal towns. We designed and delivered SplashFest, a mass-participation, water-based family event in Battersea Park, London, built to get urban families excited about the RNLI's lifesaving work.
Solutions
Sectors
Expertise
Background.
Reaching families who'd never think to support a lifeboat charity.
The RNLI has saved more than 146,000 lives at sea since 1824, largely through unpaid volunteer crews.
RNLI were looking to raise awareness and increase their membership base outside of traditional coastal towns. The RNLI tasked WMP to design and deliver a major mass-participation event in London, aimed at engaging urban families in a fun and impactful way, translating a coastal, volunteer-led mission into something that felt relevant on a Sunday afternoon in Battersea Park.
The Solution.
A water-based festival built from the ground up, in the heart of London.
Mapping a 2.5km trail through Battersea Park.
Hosted in Battersea Park, the inaugural SplashFest was a vibrant, water-based family challenge day, part aqua adventure, part summer festival, built around a 2.5km trail of five water-themed zones including Bubbly Brook, Wild Wild Water and Crazy Canon, inviting children and adults to take on playful challenges while celebrating the RNLI's lifesaving work.
Managing everything from branding to medical cover.
WMP led the entire project, from website design and registration through to event branding, venue and route management, licensing and permits, health and safety, and crisis management, medical cover and staffing, giving RNLI a fully produced event from the ground up.
Let's work together
Let's partner to create brand, product, and experience solutions that move people and markets.
Weaving the RNLI's message through every zone.
Beyond the water challenges, the Splash-Out Zone included an RNLI Inspire Zone where families could learn about the charity's work, alongside a photo booth, surf simulator and zorbing pool, keeping the RNLI's Respect the Water safety message present throughout a day that felt like a festival first.
The impact.
Over 5,000 participants in year one, and a new route into membership.
SplashFest attracted over 5,000 participants in its first year, generating new memberships and newsletter sign-ups and boosting public appreciation for the RNLI's mission, giving the charity a new way to reach families well outside its traditional coastal audience.
