Shaping the Annual Supporter Update 23/24

high five runners

Join the Involvement Network

If you haven't already done so, join our Involvement Network. You'll be sent the latest opportunities to get involved in our work, like helping shape our Annual Supporter Update, plus many more! There's also news and updates from the team.

Sign up

Each September, we publish our Annual Supporter Update (ASU). Highlighting research achievements from the past financial year, demonstrating the progress we’ve made. The ASU is designed to inspire belief in our ability to bring about a world where everybody lives longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer. In advance of publishing this year’s report we invited you, our Involvement Network members, to read an early version of the report and share your feedback. 

Thank you for your support

Thank you all for your invaluable insight and constructive feedback on this year's Annual Supporter Update. In many areas, you confirmed that we were on the right track and fulfilling the key aims for this campaign. And in others, you gave us new perspectives on how we could make it more accessible, readable, and inspiring for our supporters.

What was liked

  • The overall tone of the Annual Supporter Update was 'upbeat' and 'positive’.
  • The language was generally clear and comprehensive, explaining complex scientific research in an understandable way.
  • The Annual Supporter Update effectively showed the progress we are making to keep beating cancer, and many of you felt hopeful for the future.
  • Including the stories of people affected by cancer, like Abdullah, is a powerful way of demonstrating how our work impacts the lives of real people.

The Annual Supporter Update (ASU) is our annual opportunity to celebrate the progress we've made together over the last 12 months and thank our supporters directly for their time, dedication and passion. But our supporter base is large and diverse, with literally millions of unique experiences with cancer. It's incredibly important that the ASU is relevant, inspiring, and understandable for as many people as possible. Your insight and considered feedback were key to making sure this happened.

Charlotte Zaidi; Loyalty & Cultivation Team

 

 

What needed improvement

  • The layout of some pages made them difficult to read. We simplified the design by removing unnecessary images and formatting the text into columns.

  • Some supporters may feel that their contribution is insignificant because of the size of our supporter base. We included a short message alongside the statistics that emphasises the importance of each individual’s contribution and explicitly thanks them.

  • The explanation of the research behind the “Moving forward with a pill to prevent breast cancer” section was unclear. We provided more context by explaining our role in developing the drug anastrozole as a treatment and explicitly stated that it’s now repurposed to help prevent breast cancer.

  • The digital materials we provided for you to review weren’t fully accessible for supporters using screen readers. We’ll prioritise working with our in-house designers to ensure alt text is added to digital materials we provide for review, not just the final versions. We also added the URL for the accessible digital version of the Annual Supporter Update in the print mailing for the first time.

The Annual Supporter Update is created for our supporters and aims to highlight the progress we’ve made and how your support has made this possible. It’s been great to see the many ways your feedback has influenced decision making in terms of developing the new content and design. Thanks to everyone who contributed, and we hope you enjoy reading this year’s update. 

Claire Britton; Patient Involvement Manager