trundl shows that walking for charity is a winner at the Silver Marketing Awards
Walking for charity app trundl was, without doubt, a standout winner in the Silver Marketing Awards ‘Dragon’s Den’ event. Despite a few nerves beforehand, trundl founder Hil Mines enjoyed the friendly competition and shared her experience with us.
What was involved in the ‘Dragon’s Den’ format?
In summary, 4 startup companies each had 4 minutes to pitch for a fictitious £1 million marketing budget. Then, the audience of top UK companies who are interested in reaching the silver market voted for their favourite pitch. While I was slightly nervous and despite a warning bell at the 3-minute mark, Silver Marketing Association made it fun.
Why did you enter trundl into the competition?
The Silver Marketing Summit is Europe’s leading conference that is particularly focused on the “silver” market. So, for marketers targeting older audiences it’s the opportunity to enjoy a full day of expert speakers and networking sessions. Without question then, this was a brilliant opportunity to present trundl’s unique walking for charity proposition to a roomful of highly influential companies and brands.
Did you get the chance to see any of the conference presentations?
There was a brilliant session about marketing to men, surprisingly centered around David Beckham’s underpants. You can ask me more about that if you get in touch! Likewise, I found the ‘OK Boomer, OK Snowflake’ generation discussion by JAA Media insightful. My takeaway from this was that there’s a lot more common ground between generations than we think. Being a former punk I loved the quote that Chris Simmonds, keynote speaker and CEO of HF Holidays, shared. As John Lydon said: “Life doesn’t terminate at 21, it doesn’t come to an end at 60, 80 or even 100.” Chris’s U-shaped wellbeing index showed that I am evidently on the cusp of a positive surge of happiness. This was undoubtedly a great conclusion to the conference that left everyone with a smile.
What were the key points about trundl that you wanted to get across?
Thanks to compere Tom from Wild Dog Design, the ‘what is walking for charity app trundl?’ question was covered. So, I started by sharing our achievements like the 251,000kms walked, the 11,500kg of CO2 saved and the £26,500 donated. Then I talked about how we would invest our ‘£1million’ on building a network of ambassadors to bring trundl to life in local communities. Finally, I made the case for promoting trundl among older audiences, whose exercise levels drop off dramatically from their 50’s. Everyone needs a bit of extra motivation and walking for charity with trundl can provide just the nudge that’s needed.
Why did trundl win the pitch?
While all companies made great pitches, I think our mission to create a powerful force for good inspired the audience. They could see that trundl’s ecosystem of charities, companies, brands and walkers was unique and had great potential. Feedback afterwards was extremely positive, and my diary soon filled up with new contacts and appointments.
Although the £1million prize was fictitious, since the conference we’ve had many great meetings, so it was, without question, a great opportunity. Silver Marketing have been strong supporters of trundl and we look forward to making the most out of the new connections we’ve made.
