An immersive approach to DRTV
Alzheimer's Society
Trek26
Every year, thousands of people across the UK take on the epic challenge of a 13- or 26-mile trek to beat dementia. With a goal to encourage even more sign-ups, Alzheimer’s Society wanted to add DRTV to their marketing mix.
Our core idea was to create a film that would pull someone up from the quiet comfort of their sofa and put them right there on the trek. Every breathless pause, every last push, every finish-line hug – we wanted the audience to feel it all, and feel motivated to get involved.
To capture these textured moments we headed to the Peak District where we followed a live trek. Our crew were up bright and early for sunrise bacon sandwiches on the start line. There, we caught up with eager trekkers for the first time that day. With film crew (and dictaphone) in tow, we followed trekkers along the route, catching up with people at rest stops and finally capturing those finish line hugs. 
This unique opportunity to immerse ourselves at the heart of the project enabled us to fine-tune our concept and land the rousing tone we were looking for. We also used real-life vox pops to inspire the script, which we were determined would reflect people’s individual motivations for taking on the challenge of a trek to beat dementia.
Working together with director Robin Mason and his team at production partner Craft, we developed the film using a mix of the close-up content we filmed in the Peak District plus existing footage from UK-wide treks.
The result is an inspiring and rousing example of people power, courage and the collective will of the nation to beat dementia.
“We were a little apprehensive about how we could capture what we needed to make a TV ad, during a live event, but Open and Craft made it so easy, and enjoyable for everyone. We are delighted with the end result!”
Elly Bowran, Senior Marketing Manager – Events
Alzheimer's Society
