PR and marketing agency Big Cat has been appointed by national charity Aspire to work on its 'Channel Swim' fundraising event.

Aspire helps to provide support for those who have been paralysed by a spinal injury, currently offering guidance and care to more than 40,000 people across the UK.

The Channel Swim event takes place between September and December and will see participants swim 22 miles, the equivalent length of the famous stretch of water, over a 12-week period in leisure centres across the UK.

Jewellery Quarter-based Big Cat has been recruited to deliver a fully integrated marketing communications program aimed at increasing the fundraising total and the number of participants.

Managing director Anthony Tattum said: "We are delighted to have been set the challenge of working alongside Aspire to increase its profile and ensure that the public are aware of this fantastic campaign and the reason behind it.

"Aspire continues to make an enormous contribution to helping those with spinal cord injuries in this country so to be asked to work with them is a real honour and one we very much look forward to."

Big Cat said it planned to recruit a celebrity ambassador for the Aspire Channel Swim, along with leading in the creative production of a video which will be used to inspire participants to take up the challenge.

In addition, the campaign will see a brand identity makeover that will be utilised across print and digital ads while also generating a search strategy to focus on improving search engine optimisation for Aspire.