National Blood Service
Campaign message: “Do something amazing. Give blood.”
Aim: To communicate to people the need for blood donor volunteers. To thank current donors and encourage new donors to come forward. To increase awareness about blood donation.
Number of people involved: Unknown
Launched: 2002
Campaign description: The National Blood Service began using celebrities in their campaigns in 2002. They wanted their campaign message to stress to audiences that “an accident or emergency could happen to you or someone you know”. The National Blood Service chose to use celebrities as a way to make the campaign's sense of emergency relevant to the viewer. The celebrities stand in as someone the viewer knows; the viewer is able to identify with the celebrity and their blood story. All celebrities involved in the campaign appear in the adverts for free. Watch the "Do something amazing. Give blood" adverts.
The National Blood Service recruits celebrities for their campaign to illustrate a range of health issues, ethnic groups, ages and gender. The power of the campaign is in the mix and number of celebrities asking the viewer to "do something amazing". The adverts are regularly re-cut to ensure that the campaign remains current and relevant. For example, some of the original vignettes had involved Mo Mowlem and John Peel.
Research: In 2004 the National Blood Service carried out focus group research about their campaigns. They wanted to find out which celebrities would appeal to potential target donor/ volunteer groups. This research also revealed to the National Blood Service that audiences liked and recognised their well established campaign. Very few campaigns last more than 5 years.
PR work: The National Blood Service produce a quarterly magazine called The Donor which is sent to all their volunteers/ blood donors. It's produced, printed and posted for less than the price of a first class stamp. It usually has a celebrity on the cover, telling their blood story. It's also packed with real life stories and case studies to inspire people to keep donating.
Outside agencies involved: Delaney Lund Knox Warren
Results: The National Blood Service spends approximately £2million per annum on their TV and Radio campaigns. They are now beginning to use cinema advertising too. They succeed in recruiting 250,000 new donors each year.
Contact: Gavin Evans, National Blood Service www.blood.co.uk
