Creating impactful connections for over 10,000 British Red Cross customers

Background

The British Red Cross supports millions of people across the UK and worldwide when crisis hits, powered by over 32,500 volunteers and 3,500 staff.

Their previous storytelling platform was isolated from the main website, with user journeys that weren’t planned or optimised. Enter “Stories,”a new modular site designed to seamlessly connect users with moving, action-inspiring content, strengthening the organisation’s digital impact.

Business Drivers

The way people connect with organisations is changing. The British Red Cross recognised that their audience craved genuine engagement - a real conversation, emotional connections through stories, and the inspiration to get involved. Digital content and storytelling emerged as the best way to foster these deeper relationships.

Previously, the main storytelling hub lived on a subdomain, separate from the main site and not integrated within their digital ecosystem. This meant visitor journeys were disconnected and not optimised.

By creating a more engaging platform with a fresh content strategy, British Red Cross set the stage for building richer, more meaningful connections with the public—growing an engaged audience, sparking action, and driving real results.

The Stories project was designed to:

• Grow and strengthen British Red Cross’ movement by inspiring millions of humanitarians to join their mission
• Raise awareness of their vital work and its importance
• Offer more opportunities for audiences to connect with related content
• Inspire users to take meaningful action
• Enhance brand relevance by clearly showcasing who they are and what they stand for

Solution

The Stories project is the British Red Cross’ new blog, seamlessly integrated into their main website. This engaging platform introduces a fresh content model and strategy, helping the organisation build deeper, more meaningful connections with the public.

Reusable modules let editors curate homepage and category pages with content users love and trust. These modules highlight campaigns in ways that boost engagement, increase understanding of the charity’s work, and forge stronger connections with visitors.

For example, during the coronavirus outbreak, the Stories platform played a key role in tackling loneliness by sharing supportive and inspiring content.

Stories has enabled British Red Cross to publish articles that show how simple acts of kindness, like making a phone call to a vulnerable neighbour, could make a massive difference to someone’s life.

Outcome

While the main British Red Cross website is designed to quickly connect people with essential services, this focus sometimes created distance between the brand and its audience.

The Stories platform bridges that gap, infusing the site with storytelling that brings a human touch, while also delivering content that addresses users’ needs and inspires actions - like making a donation or signing up to volunteer.

Now, users spend more time on the Stories platform than on the main site, explore more pages per visit, and come back more frequently. Organic search remains the top channel for bringing in new visitors, with Stories already reaching over 10,000 visitors and counting.