As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the world, health care workers, including doctors, nurses and EMTs, are facing the unimaginable task of caring for all those infected with the virus, as well anyone requiring additional medical assistance.
For Chris Mickleburgh, founder of the Pogo Group, using his company’s robust print-on-demand (POD) production and distribution system to support the UK National Health Service (NHS) was a no-brainer. The resulting business, Help Our NHS Heroes, produces licensed clothing and apparel, mugs, water bottles and phone rings that include such characters as Scooty, Miffy and Thunderbirds, with 100% of profits from every sale go to the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Appeal.
I recently got the chance to speak with Chris about Help Our NHS Heroes, including the inspiration behind the initiative and his long-term goals. Excerpts from our conversation are below:
Hi Chris, thanks for agreeing to speak. Help Our NHS Heroes is a great initiative, and I really love the products listed on your site. Can you talk a bit about how this all got started?
My pleasure! We’d already built up an extensive print-on-demand production and distribution network prior to COVID-19. While many other production facilities were forced to shut down during the lockdown in the UK, ours were able to continue operating at full capacity.
When one of our print partners came to us and said that they couldn’t print charity t-shirts for the NHS, we happily stepped in to help. Using our contacts within the licensing industry, as well as our technical know-how regarding website development, we were able to quickly develop a product line and business model that could assist everyone at the NHS fighting the pandemic. Simply put, this seemed like a decent thing we could do with our skills and resources to help in a small way.
How are you marketing Help Our NHS Heroes?
We’re really publicizing in any way that we can. This includes social media advertisements, participating licenses and with the help of celebrity endorsements and social media influencers.
This must also be a great way to boost the Pogo Group brand.
That’s never been our intention, but we’ve ensured that any partners participating in the Help Our NHS Heroes initiative are credited accordingly.
What impact has the website had on overall sales?
Up until now, sales have been great. They’ve been particularly strong during promotional events, when we’re able to donate around 70% of a product’s list price to the NHS Charities Together fund.
Are you able to give us an idea of how much money you’ve raised for the NHS?
To date, we’ve raised approximately £20K, which is only the beginning. As we expand our marketing efforts further, we’re sure that we can increase that figure significantly.
Amazing! Thank you again for taking the time to chat, and best of luck!
Thank you!
To support the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Appeal, visit www.helpournhsheroes.com. 100% of the profits from every sale will go to help the brave men and women in the NHS operating on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.