Location-based mobile technology helped Cancer Research UK raise engagement with World Cancer Day this year. 

The charity partnered with Devicescape to use its Engage service, which utilises public Wi-Fi networks to send notifications to smartphones in busy public locations, Campaign reports.

Messages were designed to encourage support for World Cancer Day on February 4th by making a donation or purchasing a Unity Band bracelet, and contained links to the charity's website.

Cancer Research UK, which was the first charity to utilise the technology, saw an average click-through rate of over nine per cent, rising to in excess of 15 per cent across some locations.

The campaign also helped to increase traffic to key content on the charity's website, and similar moves in future could provide a digital alternative to cash charity collections in public areas.

Brand activation lead at Cancer Research UK Sam McAllister said it has to "work hard to get people's attention" in a competitive charity market.

"With 60 per cent of our website traffic coming from smartphones we are very keen to explore ways to maximise the mobile channel," he explained.