Human Responsibility' Focus Prompts Action on Donation
Changing attitudes about the confusing and often unsettling issue of organ donation demands a momentum-building, multi-faceted communications approach to the media, community and advocacy organizations. This was the cornerstone strategy of the "Share Your Life. Share Your Decision." campaign launched by The Randolph Partnership for The Georgia Coalition on Donation. This is one of two winning PR campaigns in the HPRMN contest.
The campaign relied on a diverse communications mix to reach the general statewide audience as well as special targets, such as the religious community, minorities and colleges and universities. This included collaborative media relations initiatives to several creative special events.
"The ubiquity of the message is what reinforces a campaign like this, no one component is enough," says Kathy Cosgrove, Randolph Partnership's executive VP.
Campaign events like "Share Your Life Day" encouraged clergy to discuss organ and tissue donation with their congregations.
The "College Awareness" program heightened awareness among a new and receptive audience of young adults. Students at 10 of the state's largest schools learned about the importance of organ and tissue donation through an entertaining logo program, "Life Takes Guts... become an organ and tissue donor." Additionally, several campus outreach activities culminated with Gov. Zell Miller proclaiming October as College Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month.
May Pole Gets Big Media Play
The most creative media-driving component of the campaign was the "May Day Reunion." It showcased 80 transplant recipients, donor families and others affected by organ and tissue donation wrapping the state's largest May Pole on the "great lawn" of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The 40-foot pole featured more than two miles of multi-colored ribbons signed by the state's 159 county commissioners.
The political community rallied around the cause. Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell became a donor and Gov. Zell Miller named heart transplant recipient Tywanda Moss May Day Queen.
The reunion attracted more than 1,000 Georgians and resulted in more than 100 TV, radio and print stories.
The overall reach of the campaign exceeded 3 million media impressions, motivating nearly 2 million residents to become donors when renewing or obtaining their driver's licenses. In 1997, Georgia ranked second in the nation for calls made to the national toll-free donation hot-line.
And while the increase cannot be directly linked to the campaign, organ donation surged 25% from the previous year following the campaign. During the same year, organ donors increased only one percent.
Lastly, the effort received national recognition from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which highlighted the campaign at a major industry conference on increasing organ donation and transplantation. (Contacts: The Randolph Partnership, Kathy Cosgrove, 404/892-4505; email: [email protected])
Boosting Employee Morale with First-Ever TV Presence
After massive lay-offs and a two-year corporate restructuring, Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) launched a blowout TV premiers screening event that left its 3,000 employees charged about the future of the organization.
This campaign grabbed the judges vote for the second winning PR campaign.
The campaign, planned by CNMC's agency, Eisner, Petrou & Associates in Baltimore, Md., restored employee pride after 250 job cuts and garnered internal buy-in for a multi-million-dollar ad blitz.
The screening theme, "Children's Television Isn't Just For Saturday Mornings" underscored the "new" marketing mission of the hospital using TV for the first time in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
It was also used as a teaser slogan on posters, flyers and invitations to drive attendance to the event among the hospital's diverse audience of doctors, nurses and administrative staffs, as well as five suburban outpatient centers.
Atrium Gets Theater Facelift
The hospital atrium, used as the main venue for the screening, was transformed from a five-story, glass-roofed open space into a movie theater complete with artificial cloth walls to block the sunlight.
These walls served a dual purpose, featuring murals painted by children on the outside and a solid blue background on the inside. The roof was covered with black tarp, creating a mood of mystery and excitement.
To build additional word-of-mouth awareness for the event invitations were hand-delivered by the Children's mascot, Dr. Bear, to employees.
The main hospital campus held four screening events on Jan. 14 and then took the show on the road for employees at outpatient centers, surgery centers and community clinics.
All of the pre-event promotions resulted in packed audiences for each screening.
The premiere set the stage for educating Children's employees on its new marketing mission and business objectives. The programming included several promotional components, including:
- A live gospel performance to pique interest;
- The CEO Ned Zechman speaking about Children's 126-year history;
- Special appearances by several local newscasters; and
- A short film that captured the essence of Children's internal culture with employee footage from various departments.
The effort resulted in tremendous feedback from employees, garnering comments like "part of a family," "being kept in the loop," and "honored to be the first to see something."
Ultimately, the campaign pulled off the tough feat of motivating employees to act as ambassadors of the "new" Children's image and message, says Jacqueline D. Bowens, Children's VP for government and public affairs. (Contacts: EPA & Associates, Colleen DeCoster, 410/685-3390; email: MBMORSaAOL.com)
The Randolph Team:
- Campaign: "Share Your Life. Share Your Decision."
- Duration: January to December 1997
- Company: The Randolph Partnerhsip/The Georgia Coalition on Donation
Campaign Budget: $290,000
- The Team: Kathy Cosgrove, executive VP; Joe Robb, VP; Kristin Chapman, VP; Cappie Ortman, senior account executive; Jodie McLaughlin, account coordinator.
The EP&A Team:
- Campaign: "Children's Television Isn't Just For Saturday Mornings."
- Duration: January
- Company: Eisner, Petrou & Associates for Children's National Medical Center
- Budget: $200,000
- The Team: Marybeth Morsberger, VP; Colleen DeCoster, senior account executive; and Jacqueline D. Bowens, VP for government and public affairs (Children's National Medical Center)
Camden-Clark Team:
- Campaign: "Brand It, And They Will Come."
- Duration: May-December 1997
- Company: Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital
- The Team: Greg Smith, director of marketing; Susan Galvin, assistant marketing director, Stacy Torch, assistant PR director; Denise Hoover, marketing specialist; Melissa Gordon, research analyst; Barbara Burner, administrative assistant.