Winner: Be The Match with PadillaCRT - Inspiring Congressional Support of a Life-Saving Cause
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that public relations is more than bolstering brands and gaining publicity for clients. That is, sometimes public relations helps organizations improve or save lives.
Federal support and funding for Be The Match is a matter of life and death for thousands of patients needing marrow transplants. Be The Match manages a registry of marrow donors and helps match patients to them. It also provides financial support for the uninsured who can’t otherwise afford the costs associated with transplants.
PadillaCRT understood the importance of Be The Match, and welcomed the challenges necessary to increase awareness and donor engagement. The objectives were clear: Strengthen the organizations influence on legislation; increase attendance at the organizations annual donor registry drive by 50%; earn 15 news stories in markets represented by key legislators; secure at least one national news story.
The campaign exceeded all expectations. The agency secured 30 face-to-face meetings with key legislators. Donor registration more than doubled compared to the previous year. News stories ran in twice as many markets originally hoped for, and Be The Match received the national coverage it was hoping for.
Honorable Mentions:
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- Davies - Napa Pipe: A New Vision for Napans
- FairPoint Communications - Beware of 876 Campaign
- Food and Drug Administration - BeSafeRx: Know Your Online Pharmacy
- Widmeyer Communications – Up to Us Campaign
- Yum! Brands Inc. - World Hunger Relief