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, Hawthorn Advisors partnered with the World Heart Federation (WHF) to deliver Don't Miss a Beat, a campaign designed to drive renewed global action on heart health. Research showed that younger adults consistently underestimated their own CVD risk, perceiving it as an older person's illness. Yet 6.5 million people die from CVD before the age of 70 each year, accounting for one in three premature deaths from non-communicable diseases globally. Don't Miss a Beat therefore became a single global narrative, delivered through human storytelling, mass participation and advocacy, and demonstrating that CVD cuts across every age, community and border. World Heart Day 2025 became the most participatory in WHF history. The campaign activated 140 countries, generated 45M+ impressions and 7M+ engagements, appeared in 12,000+ media articles across 140 countries, and received formal political references including in the Scottish Parliament. Delivered by a small team on a modest budget, Don't Miss a Beat proved that a human-centred, integrated approach can drive behaviour change and genuine impact on a global scale.
