SAMARITANS 26 MINUTES
The 26th Minute & Why
For Samaritans Dublin, we were challenged with addressing a critical decline in night-time volunteer recruitment, a role essential to keeping the charity’s emotional support lines open 24/7.
Research revealed a simple but powerful insight: to volunteer for Samaritans, the most important skill isn’t expertise or qualifications, it’s the ability to listen. With the average Samaritans call lasting 26 minutes, we realised potential volunteers were already demonstrating the exact quality needed simply by listening.
This became the foundation of “The 26th Minute” — a low-budget, high-impact campaign designed to reach people at the exact moment they had already proven they could listen for 26 minutes.
Partnering with HeadStuff Podcasts, we inserted targeted audio ads into some of Ireland’s most popular podcasts precisely at the 26-minute mark, interrupting listeners with a simple but emotionally resonant message:
If you’ve listened this long, you already have what it takes to volunteer for Samaritans.
To extend the campaign beyond digital channels, we collaborated with Seanchoíche, the internationally recognised storytelling and spoken-word event series.
During a specially themed live event centred around listening, stories from volunteers, callers, and performers unfolded until the 26th minute — when the event intentionally paused to spotlight the campaign message in real time.
Created entirely as pro-bono work with minimal media spend, the campaign delivered significant impact — increasing volunteer recruitment by 250% and filling all night shifts for an entire year within just two weeks.
Case Study Video
Awards
Category: Media Idea or Innovation
Winner of Bronze
5 Shortlists overall
Cannes Lions
Category: Media Idea or Innovation
Winner of Gold
Category: Non Profits
Winner of Silver
Effies Europe
Category: Media Strategy & Idea
Winner of Gold
Effies Global
Category: Media Strategy & Idea
Shortlisted ( Awaiting result)
Effies
Category: N/A
Winner of Silver
Category: Non Profits
Winner of Bronze
LIA Awards
Category: Radio & Audio
Winner of Wooden Pencil
3 Shortlists overall
D&AD
Category: Radio & Audio
Winner of Wooden Pencil
3 Shortlists overall
D&AD
Category: Radio & Audio
Winner of Wooden Pencil
3 Shortlists overall
Clios
Category: Innovation
Winner
Irish Audio Awards
Winner of Silver Shark
Winner of Bronze Shark
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Shark Awards
