This week we look at how charities have engaged with #BlackFriday and how Plan UK worked with a dating app.

Charities and #BlackFriday

Giving Tuesday may not be until next week but that hasn’t stopped some charities including Scope, British Heart Foundation and the Blue Cross from getting involved with the #BlackFriday hashtag to engage with bargain-hunters today.

Here are some of our favourites:

Scope – who needs #BlackFriday
Disability charity Scope encouraged shoppers to pay full price in its shops as "your purchases really mean something". By including an image the charity made its tweet stand out in the fast-moving #BlackFriday twitter stream.

British Heart Foundation – discount on fundraising trek
Hoping to capitalise on people looking for a good deal the British Heart Foundation is offering a 27 per cent discount on its Great Wall of China trek.

Blue Cross and Dogs Trust – share pictures of black pets
It might be a slightly tenuous link but the Blue Cross is encouraging people to share pictures of black cats. It’s a great alternative hashtag for those who have already spent all of November’s pay packet and need some cheering up.  

In a similar vein the Dogs Trust has been sharing photos and profiles of black dogs at its rescue centres who need new homes.

Why we love it: whether you’ll be spending you’re lunch break searching for the best deals or heading to the pub to complain about how garish American consumerisation has taken over the British high street, you can’t ignore the fact that Black Friday is happening, so it’s great to see charities joining in the conversation and raising awareness for their causes.

Plan UK partners with dating app Happn

Plan UK has teamed up with dating app Happn, which bases a user's potential matches on their location, to highlight that not all girls have a choice.

The app’s takeover forms part of its wider ‘Because I’m a girl’ campaign, and sees users matched with just one match – Mark – over and over again.

When connecting with Mark’s profile a message is brought up which reads: "When we’re free to date whoever we like, it’s hard to imagine only having one option.

"So whether you like Mark or not, he’s sticking around."

It highlights the campaign to end child marriage.

Why we love it: Although a social network, dating apps aren’t ones we often hear about. The comparison between the number of options that usually appear on the app and of seeing Mark’s profile many times is a powerful representation of the lack of choice some girls have.