Promoting Organ Donation – With a Twist
I’ve posted about my active involvement with the organ/tissue donation community before and also about the community’s use of social media to encourage donor registrations.
I’m always keeping an eye out for other states and countries that are trying new tactics to draw attention and educate the public about the issue. Recently, Donate Life Minnesota launched a fun social media campaign called “Half the Men” that targets men ages 45-65. This demographic is always a struggle to reach for the donation community and the campaign does a really nice job of presenting a clear call to action. Be sure to check out the short video spots and you can also follow their campaign updates via Facebook and Twitter.
In the U.S., cultural constraints tend to keep the donation community from getting quite as edgy as some countries when it comes to marketing and advertising. Awhile ago, I came across some videos created by Trillium Gift of Life Network in Ontario that I thought struck a nice balance between being kitschy and still driving home the need for registrations. A fun play off cheesy local commercials, these spots are funny and yet still make the point that ultimately, the lives of transplant patients are only saved as a result of registered donors.
Effectively captivating public attention and driving actionable results is of course a struggle that all marketers face. Kudos to Donate Life MN and Trillium for stepping outside the comfort zone and attempting a new approach to educating others about the issue.
Be sure to check out the spots I’ve included below from Trillium’s YouTube channel.
-Scott
Posted on October 23, 2009, in Social Media, Video and tagged donate life minnesota, Facebook, half the men, organ donation, organ donor, promotion, trillium, Twitter, Video, YouTube. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
Thanks for writing about this and sharing these irreverent approaches. I donated a kidney to my uncle six years ago because he just didn’t have time to take his chances with the list. Since not much more than half the people in any region are registered donors, new approaches are needed. For Lifeline Of Ohio, we are wrapping up a registration campaign that speaks to motorcyclists to debunk the negative meaning of “organ donor” in the motorcycle community. (I’m really lucky to get to work with a cause I’m connected to.) The Web site link included here goes to a blog post with more detail about the campaign. From the results we’ve seen so far, affinity audience outreach on this topic really resonates. Lifeline is seeing 5x the paper registrations at motorcycle events compared to more traditional events.
Thanks Julie, I’m very familiar with your campaign and Lifeline. Thanks for sharing!