Can you help us
make a big splash
with our Atlantic Row?
The Maclean Brothers were set to row across the Atlantic to raise funds for Children 1st and Feedback Madagascar. With this once-in-a-lifetime challenge, they were concerned about their profile and attracting enough donations. Our task was to boost their visibility and support their fundraising efforts.
£250k raised during campaign
OUR
CREATIVE
PROCESS
We faced three challenges: keeping users engaged throughout the journey, ensuring content flow despite potential communication failures and maintaining a steady stream of donations beyond pre- and post-race periods.
To address these, we engaged supporters with the “Broar family photo” (inspired by a pre-race photoshoot of the boys rowing an imaginary boat) and launched a challenge for everyone to row 3,000 meters on a rowing machine in January, mirroring the boys’ 3,000-mile sea row. This significantly boosted donations and awareness.
We creatively marked milestones by sharing pictures of their journey, such as Lachlan’s torn hands and festive celebrations (Tennent’s on Christmas Day and a dram in honour of their father, whisky expert Charles Maclean MBE). These efforts kept the conversation alive and heightened their media presence, resulting in a frenzy when they arrived.
Memorable moments
Our campaign generated more than 200 pieces of media coverage, helping to raise more than £200,000 for charity
Organised a social media activation encouraging people to post a family photo on Christmas day, with everyone pretending they were on a rowing boat.
Launched an activation to encourage people to post their 3K row during the first week in January.
Built anticipation to create excitement upon arrival with features across the media including CNN, BBC (including two appearances on BBC Breakfast), The Times and the Guardian.
When the brothers launched their charitable foundation, we helped spread the word about their clean water whisky project, with coverage leading to a sell-out run of their whisky.
During 35 days at sea, we managed to keep the UK and world media interested with a multimedia campaign which included targeted media releases, high-quality photos and access to the record-breaking brothers.
When they arrived in Antigua, after a three thousand mile row, Story Shop was on-hand to spread the news of their record-breaking row, becoming the youngest trio and the fastest trio to ever row the Atlantic.
Coverage
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Edinburgh brothers set rowing world records in the Atlantic
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Atlantic Challenge: Scottish brothers take on 3,000-mile rowing challenge
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Brothers rowing Atlantic will celebrate New Year with whisky and bagpipe solo
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‘Being brothers was a big help’: Atlantic rowers tell of record-breaking trip
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Scottish brothers smash world records rowing across Atlantic
“Story Shop made us see how much potential there was in our brand. They were our partners every stroke of the oars, and because of their enthusiasm, creativity, work ethic, and experience, we trusted them to have complete control of how we told our story on our social channels and in the media while we were at sea. We were absolutely dumbfounded by the results. The sporadic media we sent to them during our row was creatively transformed into engaging, layered content, which helped us raise more than £200,000 for charity.”
Jamie MacLean
200+ pieces of coverage
