Widowed At Christmas: Turning Lived Experience into National Impact

In November, we supported the launch of The Widowed Collective, a new UK-wide peer-to-peer support organisation created to ensure widowed people never feel alone in navigating life after the loss of a partner. Founded by Nicky Wake, the non-profit organisation is led entirely by people with lived experience, with a board made up exclusively of widows and widowers.

This campaign also built on a long-term communications partnership with Nicky, founder of Chapter 2 Dating, WidowsFire and SoberLove, where we have spent the past year establishing her as a powerful national voice on grief, identity, recovery and modern relationships. Earlier in 2025, our work with Nicky delivered over 50 pieces of press and media coverage, including The Guardian, The Big Issue, HuffPost and national BBC Radio, alongside widespread digital and event visibility, ensuring her lived experience and platforms were already reaching thousands before the launch of The Widowed Collective.

The Widowed Collective

Headquartered in Manchester but operating nationally, our initial focus for The Widowed Collective was a strong regional press and media launch. By grounding the story locally, we were able to establish credibility, visibility and trust before scaling the message more widely.

This included regional newspaper features and interviews across the Bury Times, Lancashire Post, Wigan Today, Wigan Observer, Burnley Express, Lancaster Guardian, Runcorn & Widnes World and Manchester TV, alongside coverage in the Manchester Evening News. The launch was also published by Yahoo! News UK & Ireland, MSN News UK and NationalWorld, significantly extending their reach.

Nicky Wake - The Widowed Collective

Broadcast and audio played a key role at this stage. Nicky spoke about the launch and the purpose of The Widowed Collective on BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio Manchester and That’s TV Manchester, alongside podcast interviews including Meeting the Mancunian, Charity Champions and Moving Women Forward.

A major moment during this phase was a standout profile feature with I Love Manchester, which explored Nicky’s story, the origins of The Widowed Collective and the gap it exists to fill. Together, this regional-first approach helped firmly establish the organisation’s voice ahead of a much larger national campaign.

Just weeks later, we launched #WidowedAtChristmas, a national awareness campaign designed to support widows and widowers through one of the most emotionally difficult times of the year. Fronted by Nicky and fellow board members Natalie Bolton, Heather Smith and Rosie Moss, all widows themselves, the campaign centred lived experience, honesty and compassion, offering solidarity rather than solutions.

Rosie Moss - The Widowed Collective

Through coordinated national and regional press, broadcast interviews, digital coverage and social storytelling, #WidowedAtChristmas reached audiences across TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and online platforms throughout December, including over the Christmas period itself.

Broadcast coverage played a particularly significant role. Interviews and features aired across ITV Granada Reports, BBC North West Tonight, BBC South East and BBC News Online, alongside extensive radio coverage on BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Merseyside, and BBC Radio Oxford. National and regional commercial radio also carried the campaign widely, with interviews broadcast across LBC, Heart, Capital, Smooth, Hits Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Forth 1 Radio and KMFM, ensuring the campaign reached listeners across multiple regions and demographics.

Heather Smith - The Widowed Collective

A major national moment came with a powerful opinion-led piece published on LBC Online, offering a deeply personal reflection on grief at Christmas and extending the campaign’s reach through national digital audiences and social sharing.

Print and digital coverage ran throughout December across titles including the Lancashire Telegraph, LancsLive, Yorkshire Press, Manchester Evening News, Edinburgh Evening News, Oxford Mail, KentOnline, Kentish Gazette, Sevenoaks Chronicle, Rochdale Times, Midlothian View, North Edinburgh News, Huddersfield Hub, About Manchester and Rossendale Free Press, with further republication via Yahoo! News and MSN, significantly amplifying national reach.

Importantly, the campaign extended beyond traditional press and broadcast. Alongside media activity, we supported #WidowedAtChristmas with original blog content, build a campaign social media plan for December, campaign-specific social content, and a collaboration with a leading widowed influencer who contributed guest blogs, interviews and social storytelling. This ensured consistency across channels while allowing widowed voices to be shared in their own words, with care and authenticity.

Natalie Bolton - The Widowed Collective

For us at The Prominence Collective, #WidowedAtChristmas is a clear example of how thoughtful, sensitive PR and communications can drive real impact. By building strong foundations, taking a regional-to-national approach, and centring lived experience at every stage, the campaign ensured that thousands of widowed people across the UK felt seen, understood and less alone during Christmas.

We’re incredibly proud to have supported The Widowed Collective through its launch and first national campaign, and to have helped turn pain into purpose, connection and community at a time when it mattered most.