Make-A-Wish International

The Challenge

Make-A-Wish International creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses through a network spanning countries and cultures around the world.

To strengthen the brand globally, the organisation needed a clearer and more consistent understanding of how people viewed Make-A-Wish across very different markets.

The challenge was to create a global picture without losing the local differences that matter.

Make-A-Wish wanted to understand:

How awareness and familiarity varied between countries and regions.
What people associated with the Make-A-Wish brand and its purpose.
What encouraged people to support or donate to children's charities — and what held them back.
Where the organisation had the greatest opportunity to strengthen consideration and connection.
How markets compared using a consistent set of measures that could be tracked over time.

With 25 markets across seven global regions, consistency was critical — but so was recognising that attitudes towards charities, giving and Make-A-Wish itself could differ significantly from country to country.

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The Solution

Skopos designed and delivered a large-scale international brand health programme, speaking to 7,424 people across 25 markets and seven regions.

A common research framework allowed Make-A-Wish to compare performance consistently around the world, while questionnaire localisation and market-level analysis ensured important cultural differences were not lost.

Skopos managed the programme end-to-end, including:

Global questionnaire development and localisation.
Sampling and quota management across all 25 markets.
International fieldwork coordination and quality control.
Data processing, analysis and interpretation.
Market, regional and global reporting designed around the decisions Make-A-Wish needed to make.

Rather than simply producing a collection of market scores, the analysis looked across the programme to identify the bigger story — where Make-A-Wish was performing strongly, where barriers existed, and what could help build a deeper connection with potential supporters.

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The Outcome

The research gave Make-A-Wish International a consistent global evidence base for understanding its brand while still seeing the individual markets behind the averages.

It enabled the organisation to:

Benchmark brand health across countries and regions.
Identify markets where awareness and consideration offered the greatest opportunity for growth.
Better understand the motivations and barriers shaping charitable support.
See where global patterns were emerging — and where a more locally relevant response was required.
Give international and local teams a shared evidence base for conversations about brand, communications and future priorities.

Most importantly, the programme created a foundation Make-A-Wish could build on rather than a one-off snapshot.

Skopos has subsequently continued supporting Make-A-Wish with creative and communications testing, helping the team understand not only the health of the brand, but how future campaigns can build stronger emotional connection and impact.

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“From the outset, the Skopos team was a true partner in our international brand health study done in 25 countries, offering clear guidance and deep expertise in a true collaborative spirit. Their ongoing support continues to add real value to our marketing and brand research needs.”

VP Marketing & Communication, Make-A-Wish International

Make-A-Wish International

The Challenge

The Solution

The Outcome

“From the outset, the Skopos team was a true partner in our international brand health study done in 25 countries, offering clear guidance and deep expertise in a true collaborative spirit. Their ongoing support continues to add real value to our marketing and brand research needs.”

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