Capturing real experiences at national scale
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry needed to capture authentic pandemic experiences beyond formal testimony. Their mission: create a diverse, representative public record reflecting lived experiences across multiple communities that were affected the most. But they faced a fundamental challenge – how do you encourage thousands of people to share deeply personal, often painful stories? The Inquiry needed a campaign that would resonate emotionally and drive genuine participation from communities most affected by the pandemic. M&C Saatchi was brought in to work with the Inquiry team and this became the Every Story Matters campaign.
Overcoming emotional and trust barriers to participation
The campaign faced a complex emotional landscape. Many people found revisiting pandemic memories overwhelming. Others questioned whether their story “mattered”, believing their experiences were too ordinary to be valuable. There was also a trust barrier; some doubted whether their stories would be meaningfully used or simply “disappear into a black hole.”
The campaign needed to reach disproportionately affected communities and audiences often underrepresented in formal inquiries, including teachers, care workers, SME business owners, pregnant women, grandparents. These groups carried specific emotional weights: grief, loss, frustration, but also resilience and a desire for accountability.
Most critically, the campaign needed to move beyond institutional language. People recoiled from bureaucratic tones and official-speak. The creative approach had to feel empathetic and genuinely representative of lived experience. Creating messaging that felt authentic while encouraging vulnerable people to share required more than conventional creative thinking. It demanded research embedded at the heart of creative development – research that was trauma-informed, agile and genuinely co-creative.
Embedding real-time insight into creative development
We designed a bespoke, multi-layered research methodology that became the creative laboratory itself. Rather than traditional insight feeding into creative, we built research into the creative process.
Our approach combined three interconnected elements:
- an online Insight Community of 60 carefully recruited participants from disproportionately affected groups.
- Targeted depth interviews with harder-to-reach audiences.
- Real-time message testing with collaborative feedback tools.
The Community became a safe creative space. Over two weeks, participants completed daily qualitative tasks including diary exercises, story-building activities, freelisting exercises and collaborative idea boards. A trauma-trained, independent moderation team fostered psychological safety, enabling rich, emotionally charged stories to emerge naturally.
The magic happened in our daily debriefs with M&C Saatchi’s creative team. Insights weren’t batched and reported; they were live, flowing directly into creative decisions within hours. When participants gravitated toward specific emotional drivers – relief, accountability, legacy – those became campaign pillars. When phrases triggered discomfort, they were dropped. Nearly all hero headlines came directly from participant voices.
This real-time collaboration overcame the core challenge: we didn’t just understand the audience’s emotional barriers – we let them co-create the solution. The campaign became theirs, not something done to them.
Turning empathy-led insight into national impact
The Every Story Matters campaign achieved exceptional outcomes, demonstrating the power of empathy-led research in driving public engagement with a sensitive national initiative.
Submission and reach
The campaign generated 19,000+ stories submitted to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, surpassing targets. This translated to 1.8 billion media impressions through 1,147 pieces of media coverage. Digital engagement was substantial, with 600,000+ visits to the campaign landing page and 513,000+ clicks leading to story submissions.
Campaign scale
The team created 419 bespoke assets across digital channels, reaching diverse audiences through 40 activated partnership organisations. The campaign generated 152 million social media impressions and sparked 5,337 organic online conversations discussing Every Story Matters.
Lasting impact
Beyond immediate metrics, the collected stories form part of the permanent Every Story Matters records, now being used alongside expert reports and witness testimonies in UK Covid-19 Inquiry hearings. These accounts will continue shaping the Inquiry’s final recommendations and the nation’s understanding of the pandemic.
Emotional engagement
Participants reported feeling genuinely heard and supported, with one noting: “It felt like, finally, someone wanted to listen.” The campaign successfully transformed people’s perceptions of their own experiences, helping thousands who initially believed “their story didn’t matter” to meaningfully contribute to the national record.
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The research delivered was pivotal in helping improve participation in Every Story Matters and helping to shape the recommendations of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. By revealing the emotions and barriers behind public engagement with the Inquiry, the research transformed our communications into stories that connected deeply with our target audiences. The result was a narrative that was relatable and inclusive, using genuine testimony, which helped us gather thousands of personal accounts we might otherwise have missed. This project demonstrated the amazing impact of strategic research and evidence-based communications, by helping ensure the campaign was both far-reaching and truly resonated with the public!”
Head of Strategic and Change Communications – UK Covid-19 Inquiry
