We Can’t Be Doctors Without You

Having worked with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for a number of years on fundraising campaigns, I was excited to be given the opportunity to develop a creative communications strategy for them. Despite a number of very successful fundraising campaigns, spontaneous awareness of MSF remained low.

MSF needed a communications strategy that would act as a rallying cry for potential recruits and advocate donors, people with untapped, world-changing potential. The creative concept I devloped would serve as their rallying cry.

The work MSF do is extraordinary, they save lives on both sides of the front lines, responding to conflict, medical emergencies, natural disasters, and supporting health services in places where they have been decimated. In short, they go where they are needed. I was pondering this while walking to the office one day when it struck me, “We can’t be doctors without you”.

Donations make it possible for skilled people to work for MSF doing lifesaving work. Without “you” there are no doctors in the field. No engineers on the ground maintaining the vehicles that get medical staff to the front line. No logisticians ensuring medical equipment is in situ when they get there. 

I wrote an emotive, motivational spoken word short film to be the focal point of the campaign. Grian Chatten, lead singer of Fontaines D.C. provided the VO and appeared in the video.