Client: World Heart Federation
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world’s leading cause of death, claiming more than 20 million lives annually. Yet up to 80% of heart attacks and strokes are preventable. To mark the 25th anniversary of World Heart Day 2025, Hawthorn Advisors partnered with the World Heart Federation (WHF) to deliver Don’t Miss a Beat, a campaign to drive renewed global action. Insight revealed a significant challenge. Many people, particularly younger adults, falsely perceived CVD as an “older person’s illness”, underestimating their own risk. However, CVD accounts for one in three premature deaths from non-communicable diseases globally, with 6.5 million people dying before age 70 each year. Heart health was therefore reframed as an urgent, shared human issue, with a strong focus on those “missing out” on long, healthy lives. This insight shaped the integrated campaign concept and call to action: Don’t Miss a Beat. Designed to maximise impact with limited resources a single global narrative was delivered through human storytelling, participation and advocacy, demonstrating that CVD affects all ages and communities across the globe. WHD 2025 became the most participatory in WHF history, exceeding all objectives. The campaign activated 140 countries, delivered over 45m impressions, and over 7M engagements, appeared in over 12,000 media articles, and received formal political references. Achieved with a modest budget, and small team, Don’t Miss a Beat demonstrated how a human-centred, integrated communications can drive global behaviour change, and deliver impact at scale.
