In March 2025, Knife Crime Matters, together with Wythenshawe Black Belt Academy and West Wythenshawe Boxing Club, launched an integrated knife‑crime awareness initiative in South Manchester. The unveiling of a bold mural at West Wythenshawe Boxing Club on 28 March 2025 marked the campaign’s high‑profile launch. Alongside this visual statement, educational resources were distributed to all local secondary schools to reach young people with a clear message: knife crime is preventable and education is key.
Black Cat Marketing: Lead & Strategist
As the lead agency on this effort, Black Cat Marketing delivered strategic direction and hands‑on execution across all facets of the campaign:
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Email Marketing Excellence: Black Cat crafted polished, emotionally resonant email campaigns aimed at schools, community leaders, sponsors and local press. These emails achieved high open and engagement rates, and effectively communicated the mural’s significance and educational rollout.
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Collaboration with External Sales and Stakeholders: We worked closely with external sales partners to ensure messaging was aligned across media, press outreach and sponsor engagement. This multi-channel coordination ensured broad visibility and maximised campaign impact.
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Spotting Strategic Opportunities: A standout moment was identifying and securing involvement from local MP Mike Kane. Originally scheduled to unveil the mural, his participation lent political support and drew further attention from the community and media—even when replaced at short notice by Councillor Dave Marsh due to his unavoidable ministerial duties.
Campaign Impact
Thanks to Black Cat’s leadership, the Campaign succeeded in:
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Garnering strong support from local businesses (Morgan Sindall, Beacon Fostering, Wythenshawe Dental Clinic among others) whose sponsorship made the campaign viable.
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Delivering educational toolkits into every secondary school, equipping young people with important knowledge about the risks of knife and gang‑related crime.
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Creating a visible community landmark with the mural—a powerful artistic anchor that brought attention and served as a lasting visual reminder.
Why It Worked
Black Cat Marketing’s approach aligned directly with proven best practices for effective knife-crime awareness campaigns:
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Harnessing localised, community‑specific messaging (the mural, the real voices in schools), rather than generic fear‑based tactics or one‑size‑fits‑all outreach.
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Integrating email, media outreach, stakeholder collaboration, and educational delivery into a coherent, multi‑channel campaign.
Looking Ahead
With this campaign now live in Wythenshawe, Knife Crime Matters aims to replicate the model across South Manchester and beyond, combining visual impact, local engagement, and educational outreach. Black Cat Marketing stands ready to lead future launches by bringing the same creativity, coordination, and strategic vision which made this campaign such a success.
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