The Electric Cranks

Key Points

• Client: Weber Shandwick (PR Agency)
• Project Title: The Electric Cranks
• Type: Video and Photography Production
• Location: Coast-to-Coast, UK
• Time Frame: Quick-turnaround project
• Core Goals:
  • Market Abbott Healthcare as a leader in life-changing medical innovation.
  • Showcase how individuals with LVADs thrive despite advanced heart failure.
  • Raise awareness for organ donation and support the New Start charity.

The Challenge

Imagine cycling 125 miles across rugged terrain—but your heart doesn’t beat naturally. This was the reality for the Electric Cranks, a group of extraordinary individuals living with LVADs (electric heart pumps). Their coast-to-coast charity ride wasn’t just a personal challenge; it was a powerful way to showcase Abbott Healthcare’s life-changing technology and raise awareness of its impact.

Abbott’s work transforms lives, and this event needed to spotlight that transformation—highlighting how people living with advanced heart failure can continue doing what they love. At the same time, it aimed to inspire organ donation and help the Electric Cranks raise £10,000 for New Start, a charity supporting transplant patients with long-term aftercare.

Our challenge was to capture the human stories and the scope of this achievement while managing the logistical complexities of filming a multi-day event featuring participants with serious medical needs, but unlike our usual work this was to create a library of assets to be sent to various international marketing platforms and used for a huge range of PR and marketing purposes instead of just creating a single video campaign.

The Plan

We mapped out a plan to make this ambitious project both impactful and seamless.

1. Content Strategy:
   • Capture heartfelt interviews with cyclists at the start of the ride to bring their stories to life.
   • Film dynamic action shots and scenic B-roll to convey the magnitude of their journey.
   • Create versatile visual assets tailored for Abbott Healthcare’s marketing, media outlets, and PR campaigns.
2. Production Logistics:
   • Use a small, agile crew in a support vehicle to meet cyclists at key points along the route, adapting to off-road challenges.
   • Implement rigorous health and safety measures to ensure participants’ well-being.
3. Rising to the Unexpected:
   • Just 90 minutes before the live broadcast of BBC North West Tonight, their team faced an emergency and couldn’t complete the edit for a planned segment. Without our intervention, the story would have been dropped entirely.
   • We jumped into action, delivering a polished segment on time—ensuring the Electric Cranks’ remarkable journey reached thousands of viewers.
   • It was a moment that showcased Eight Engines’ commitment to going the extra mile, no matter the pressure.

The Results

The experience was genuinely heartwarming—a bit of an honour to spend time with people who’ve gone through so much and were achieving something so impressive.

• Media Coverage:
  • Footage aired on BBC North West Tonight, amplifying the story to thousands of viewers. Without our rapid response, this segment could have been lost entirely.
  • Imagery featured in The Times and BBC News as well as countless regional publications.
• Charity Success:
  • The Electric Cranks successfully raised £10,000 for New Start, inspiring greater awareness of organ donation.
• Client Value:
  • Abbott Healthcare received versatile, dynamic assets for storytelling and marketing, enhancing its message of resilience and innovation.

Kiran Ghuman, Senior Manager at Weber Shandwick, shared:
"Eight Engines were easy to work with, responsive, and accommodating to any last-minute amends and changes. They provided flexibility on a quick-turnaround project and support in bringing some of our media pitches to life with the right visual content."