#BloodyAmazingKidneys Campaign

Patients

Patient organisations and company partners

Kidney Care UK and AstraZeneca UK. 

Summary

Kidney Care UK and AstraZeneca UK partnered to raise awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and empower individuals to manage their kidney health through Kidney Care UK’s #BloodyAmazingKidneys campaign. The campaign was implemented in late 2024 and aimed to reach those at high risk of CKD. The online Kidney Health Checker supports people to identify their personal risk of CKD and helps them seek healthcare professional advice to reduce that risk if needed. 

With a target of 11,000 risk calculations in the first six weeks, the campaign exceeded expectations tenfold. Nine months after launch, 200,000 people have calculated their personal risk of CKD, facilitated early diagnosis and increasing public and professional awareness. 

Kidney Logos

Project Type

Disease Awareness Campaign

Project Focus

To encourage the public to check their individual risk factors for kidney disease and to empower them to manage their kidney health.

Contracting process

AstraZeneca UK had a long-standing relationship with Kidney Care UK. They co-developed the project with some agreed key focus areas:

  • Raise awareness of CKD
  • Patient knowledge and engagement - translating awareness into action to seek HCP advice about risk of CKD if indicated by the online checker
  • Evidence-based approaches – making use of behaviour change theory and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)  agreed criteria for CKD risk
  • Impact measurement – measuring health checker use and providing the option to track onward user journeys
  • Health equity – reaching those most at risk of CKD 

A Partnership Framework Agreement was developed with the primary focus of raising awareness of CKD. This was the most appropriate mechanism as the founding principles of the project were co-developed. This contract was reviewed in-house at AstraZeneca UK by the legal, finance, and compliance teams. 

A specific Statement of Work was scoped and outlined the details of the project. This included timelines, roles and responsibilities, transfers of value (financial and otherwise), and implementation and reporting milestones. 

The partnership was guided by the principles of transparency and integrity. The founding objectives were co-developed. Kidney Care UK took ownership of the campaign delivery itself, with AstraZeneca UK providing part-funding. AstraZeneca UK did not have direct creative control. It focused on ensuring medical accuracy and supporting outreach. 

As the project was delivered under a partnership agreement, all content needed to be certified by an AstraZeneca UK nominated signatory. 

Implementation

Once developed and agreed, Kidney Care UK took complete ownership of the project delivery. This was an important as AstraZeneca UK wanted Kidney Care UK to maintain integrity and for the campaign to align to the charity’s brand, strategic ambition and values.
 
The campaign development involved focus groups with ‘cold’ users, people with CKD, GPs, and nephrologists, to test messages – ensuring relevance and impact. As a result of testing different options, the #BloodyAmazingKidneys strapline was agreed.

Kidney Care UK and AstraZeneca UK met regularly throughout the campaign development so that AstraZeneca UK could hear updates on progress and plan how to certify the content (to ensure medical accuracy) and support the outreach by raising awareness of the campaign once launched. 

The campaign involved: 

  • Printed posters in the public toilets of service stations and shopping centres in high footfall locations. Locations were selected based on socioeconomic factors and prevalence of CKD and cardiovascular disease
  • Pay Per Click advertising across Facebook and Instagram
  • 'Bloody Amazing Kidneys’ messaging and visuals designed through focus groups and message testing
  • A Kidney Health Checker developed using NICE risk criteria and clinical guidance
  • Follow-on resources including a tailored GP letter (signed by the current and former Presidents of the UK Kidney Association for greater endorsement) for those at higher risk
  • Providing the option for those identified as higher risk to provide information on ‘what happened next’. This will help the charity build understanding of the patient journey.

Impact

The initial target of 11,000 Health Checker completions within the first month of the campaign was swiftly surpassed – with around 100,000 completions secured during the 6-week campaign phase. This meant that a rapid scaling of resources was needed to manage the unexpected engagement levels.

The results have far exceeded expectations. So far more than 200,000 people have identified their risk of chronic kidney disease. The campaign resulted in: 

  • 2 million+ Kidney Care UK webpage views
  • 545,000+ unique visitors to the Kidney Health Checker 
  • 2800+ sign-ups for KCUK information
  • 2,500+ scans of QR codes on posters
  • 300+ pieces of media coverage

Of the 200,000+ people, approximately 50% were identified as at higher risk of CKD, with high blood pressure being the primary risk factor. 

Benefits

Impact on patient organisations: 

  • Ensured Kidney Care UK was able to fully own the creative development and delivery of the campaign. 
  • The partners plan to continue to work together to maximise the reach of the campaign and ensure as many people as possible are supported to maintain their kidney health. 

Impact on industry partner: 

  • From AstraZeneca UK’s perspective, this was a truly collaborative partnership that met the strategic needs of both organisations and the core objectives of the agreed partnership. 

Top tips

  • Work on long-term partnerships to build trust and organisational memory.
  • Trust your partner and give them the space to be creative. 
  • Test messages with your key audiences.
  • Have a robust partnership agreement in place and develop specific pieces of work underneath. 
  • Maintain a single relationship owner within both organisations to ensure continuity for the project.  
  • Plan and manage the content certification process carefully, particularly around campaign launch and major milestones. Bring nominated signatories into the process early. This helps reduce complexity and barriers to partnership working. 
“The engagement in the campaign has been incredible and is testament to the fact that people clearly want to know how they can manage their kidney health. From members of the public, to senior NHS staff, via pharmacists and fundraisers we’re seeing so much support for the campaign, and we will be applying the learnings to sustain and advance momentum – to ensure as many people as possible are empowered to take action to support their #BloodyAmazingKidneys.” Laurie Cuthbert, Kidney Care UK
“The results have far exceeded our expectations. More than 200,000 people have identified their risk of chronic kidney disease so far. We never would have launched a campaign called ‘Bloody Amazing Kidneys’. Trusting our partner has led to fantastic results. We believe that collaboration across industry and patient organisations is critical to transforming care for patients in the UK. By handing over the creative reins and truly listening to our colleagues at Kidney Care UK, we were able to reach people in ways we never could have imagined on our own. This campaign has far exceeded our expectations – and is a testament to what happens when we combine our expertise and trust each other.” Emily Burns, AstraZeneca UK

Job code: NX-GB-NA-WCNT-250001 / GB-68973
Date of Preparation: July 2025

Last modified: 16 July 2025

Last reviewed: 16 July 2025