2018 Winners & Shortlists

UNLIKELY DONORS

BrandDSC
Product/ServiceBLOOD DONATION
EntrantJ. WALTER THOMPSON RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
CategoryCharities & Non-profit
Idea Creation J. WALTER THOMPSON RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

The Campaign

While 4 million Lebanese reside inside Lebanon, almost 14 million others live abroad (source: Foreign & Commonwealth Office). Despite the distance, the Lebanese living abroad are well connected with their relatives and friends in Lebanon, usually staying in touch via Facebook and other social networks. This insight inspired us to mobilize the Lebanese diaspora and use their voice to amplify our message and spread back home. We based our idea on the thinking that if we create a sense of urgency regarding the scarcity of blood donations inside Lebanon among the Lebanese diaspora, then they will be intrigued and will try to help by sharing our message among their friends and relatives back home which will amplify our voice and enable us to highjack the social conversation in Lebanon. It was sort of leveraging international pressure from the diaspora to drive impact in Lebanon and push locals to donate blood

Execution

Our target was Lebanese Netizens on Facebook who use the platform to share stories and opinions, vent anxieties and connect with loved ones abroad. Yet despite their active online presence, posts from individuals & NGOs regarding social issues like blood donation rarely gets their attention and are mostly ignored. So, to shed the light on the severe blood shortage in Lebanese, we took the Arabic Facebook blood donations posts and placed it on unbranded outdoors across several cities with high Lebanese expatriate community with a common hashtag: Solution is in your hands (in Arabic). The strategy was to Let expatriates spread our message by sharing our outdoor posts among their community. Once shared, we had celebrities and influencers ready to comment on those posts and repost them to stir the conversation. To support the influencers, we had a PR plan with several media outlets to create more buzz.

While our objective was to achieve 10% increase in both registered blood donors and blood units donated, we managed to achieve a 20% increase in donors and a 22% increase in blood units in only 6 months. A staggering double the objective in half the time. And with no media cost at all, our campaign generated $529,386 in earned media. However our biggest achievement of all was to highjack the social conversation in Lebanon and direct it toward an important social issue that touches everyone’s life

The Situation

Despite leveraging several communication channels, PR was the key ingredient for this campaign’s success, as our strategy relied heavily on PR to amplify our message, gain celebrities’ support, fuel the campaigns momentum and influence the public’s dialogue regarding blood donation in Lebanon; ultimately changing perceptions and generating more than half a million dollars in earned media.

The Strategy

We targeted Lebanese Netizens on Facebook who use the platform to share stories, vent anxieties, and connect with loved ones abroad. Yet despite their active online presence, posts from individuals & NGOs regarding social issues like blood donation rarely get their attention and are mostly ignored. So, to shed the light on the severe blood shortage in Lebanon, we took Arabic Facebook blood donations posts and placed it on unbranded outdoors across several cities with high Lebanese expatriate community with a common hashtag: Solution is in your hands. This strategy of relying on the Lebanese diaspora to share and promote our message among their community back home was selected to make more impact than a traditional awareness campaign. Once shared, celebrities and influencers were ready to push it further and stir the conversation. In parallel, PR made it possible to cover the topic at a national level.

Credits

Name Company Role
Chafic Haddad J. Walter Thompson Chief Creative Operations Officer
Rayyan Aoun J. Walter Thompson Executive Creative Director
Rawad Eldahouk J. Walter Thompson Creative Director
Jean Elazar J. Walter Thompson Senior Art Director
Firas Ghannam J. Walter Thompson Senior Art Director
Marc Baakliny J. Walter Thompson Digital Art Director
Ahmad Shanaa J. Walter Thompson Senior Art Director
Yorgui Maurice Teyrouz DSC Founder and President
Abdo Kamal Saad DSC Communication Manager & Representative of DSC Clubs