Through my work in organ donation healthcare marketing over many years, I have learned that organ donation is a topic that people either don’t want to think about - or one that is near and dear to their hearts. I fall into the latter category. You can’t hear the life-changing stories from organ recipients and families of organ donors and ever be the same. Which is why I’m so excited about the opportunity to use social media tools to extend the Donor Drive 2010 message for our long-time client, The Gift of Life Michigan.
Part of the problem with getting people to sign up has been getting them to take the time to register online (btw, just signing your driver’s license is not enough!). Hence, this quick-read, yet multi-functional microsite is designed to make it VERY simple. The widget allows you to sign up right there. You can share the widget via Facebook and Twitter. Email messages can be sent to family and friends letting them know you’ve just registered and encouraging them to follow suit. You can see the total count of registered donors, even by county. Compelling recipient and family donor video testimonials and opportunity to share your own organ donation story provide the emotional connection to seal the deal.
It’s only been a couple of weeks and already over 5000 widget impressions and over 125 widget installs. Help share the gift of life. Sign up on the widget below and share the widget.
And know that you’ve made a difference. Just one donor can save or improve the lives of 50 people. And there are thousands in Michigan just waiting for your help.
Let us know your thoughts on this social media strategy and any other successful cause social media strategies you’ve used.
I love when I get a social marketing assignment. Because instead of selling capitalism with my creativity (not that there’s anything wrong with that), I get to sell people on the idea making the world a better place. Some of the best creative has come from public service announcements. What makes this campaign for the United Way Toronto special, is that it was not just a brilliant idea, it was brilliantly executed. That takes commitment, passion and know-how. Kudos to the production team that pulled it off (no pun intended)!
If you have any other creative social marketing examples to share, please do!
This blog post is last in the series, 21 creative social marketing examples.
Before becoming a mom, my knowledge of toys consisted of about 3 things: Sit’ N Spin, Big Wheel and Play-Doh. When realizing my dance rendition of Single Ladies by Beyonce and what I feel was a very well-thought out and entertaining reading of “Goodnight Moon” wasn’t quite enough to entertain my toddler for more than a few minutes, I entered a new realm – securing imaginative, stimulating kids toys. A trip to Toys “R” Us for me was comparable to a couch potato running the Boston Marathon. I almost passed out. There was no finish line in sight. I didn’t even break in my sneakers but I did break out in a sweat. I high-tailed it out of the store and headed home and jumped online. How many toy kitchens can there be? Seriously? Hundreds! Pure panic. Until I hit “read customer reviews” and felt immediate calm. Moms, just like me. Ones who have bought the product, took the time to write a review, and were kind enough to share it with millions of online users including little ol’ me. The one that I thought looked the best in the photo had terrible rankings - they had about 5 categories along with side notes, followed by complete reviews. So, thank you Katie from Minnesota, the anonymous grandma from New York, the mom of 3 from Wisconsin for your reviews, and the many more moms who saved my little one from having to endure my somewhat rusty dance skills. I knew which products were flimsy, which ones were hard to put together, seemed too big, and didn’t function well. I ended up with a fabulous Step2 kitchen which I found in stock using the store locator feature. I am no longer green to kids toys. In fact, I’m a rewards member now at Toys “R” Us – and I must say they send great coupons (read Jo’s blog about coupon use)! And really, Step2 has gained a very loyal customer via good feedback from current customers. I have quite a few Step2 products now – like the easel and outdoor climber. Reviews are important. And if your aiming to hit moms, pay close attention to what is said about your products online. Women are the primary purchase decision makers and word-of-mouth goes right to the pocketbook. Make it part of your marketing strategy. And if words aren’t enough, check out some stats in this blog by Robert Gorell, I can only imagine these stats have increased in terms of the power of customer feedback.
While doing social media training here at the agency, I finally figured out why so many people do not respond or follow on Twitter…
They don’t know how!
Although Twitter seems pretty self explanatory, especially to those of us that were in college when Facebook and MySpace first hit the social media scene, that doesn’t mean everyone can follow along and quickly grasp the concept. For those who need the extra help, it means there will be some research involved… yes, you have to google how to twitter. Sounds like a simple enough request, right? Wrong. Most people look to social media because it should be fun, easy and exciting… not one of those words implies having to LEARN first.
I can now say from experience, that little effort to learn something new goes a long way to gaining a positive new tool to promote your business and yourself. Do you disagree? I’d love to see your thoughts.
P.S. If you can’t get somebody’s attention through social media like this poor man, maybe you should try a new tactic!
Sometimes creative not only breaks through the clutter but breaks new ground in what is possible. It’s pretty mind-blowing to imagine a poster campaign that talks. This is truly interactive at it’s best. The UN Voices Project combines cutting edge mobile phone and image recognition technologies. The campaign is used to put out the message of those who would otherwise go unheard. People around Sydney were encouraged to take a mobile phone photo of the persons mouth and sent it as a picture text to the number on the poster. The sender then receives a return phone call with a pre-recorded message from the person they have photographed. The call to action is embedded in the phone message where people are then encouraged to leave their own comments through the UN website. I applaud the creatives that came up with this idea and the technologists that made it happen. It is inspires the rest of us to push ourselves to create new ways of communicating our messages. Have you seen any other groundbreaking examples of creative that re-invent the way we engage? Please share if you do!
Over the years, the WWF has done some brilliant advertising. The message is usually a variation of “save the planet” but the executions are all different and each inspiring. The speckyboy blog has done an admirable job collecting some of the different campaigns. There was a lot of controversy recently over an ad that used the tragedy of 911 to demonstrate how many more people were killed by the tsunami. The WWF has denounced the ad but the print and TV live on in cyberspace. One of my favorite WWF ad is the one below (despite the fact that superheroes are generally overused) because it’s photographic execution is so natural and human. I hope the lights never go off on the creativity of this work and I applaud the WWF for setting the standard so high.
Homophobics are still in the closet. Even though most of us have gay friends, relatives, co-workers or at the very least have watched “Will & Grace”, homophobia is still hiding out there. And sometimes, it comes out, passive-aggressively, like when teenagers say phrases like “That’s so gay.” This is a noteworthy campaign by the AdCouncil to encourage people to thinkb4youspeak. While the TV featured Wanda Sykes and Hillary Duff, strange bedfellows for this in my opinion, my favorite is the one with the non-celeb below. The website also has many different features like e-card sharing, a pledge, a word origin game, how to get involved and ways to share your stories and videos. But I am hoping they add more depth as the e-card and games are pretty simplistic and could be more interesting.
Are you guilty of ever saying “That’s so gay?” If so, out yourself here. Do you think that makes you homophobic or just plain careless and prone to cheesy pop vernacular?
This PSA is so powerful, I am going to let it speak for itself.Maybe we all would care more about the land mine problems in other countries, if it were in our backyard.
Despite the 40 billion dollars poured into the diet industry, 2 out of 3 Americans are clinically obese. I, myself, have poured a big chunk of change into this industry. And while I adore my nutritionist, Gail Posner, and the progress we’ve made over the years, it is a daily battle of wills. Like “Will I put myself first and walk today?” or “Will I love myself enough to say no to that cookie calling my name?” Which is why I love some of the work the AdCouncil has done for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Obesity Prevention Campaign. While creative like “Love Handles” and “Double Chin” are very funny and attention-getting, they don’t really inspire me as much as the posters like the one below. I can relate to these people with spare tires and the copy that follows their curves to demonstrate how by taking small steps you can become smaller. These give me hope. These encourage me to keep trying. I just joined my old gym again this weekend. Here’s hoping I will use it and lose it. If you have any small steps to get healthier that have worked for you, please share them…
“This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs.” Was there even anti-drug advertising before this memorable spot hit our TV sets in the 80’s? The mother to all PSA’s, this spot has been quoted, copied, spoofed, and lives on in our pop culture. To replay in our social consciousness without paid media, now that is effective social marketing. My favorite of the original versions was the heroine spot below from 1988. And also another classic spot is the one where the dad confronts his son in his bedroom about his weed. “Who taught you how to do this stuff?”, the dad asks. The son screams, “You alright! I learned it by watching you!” Talk about a parental guilt trip. And now a new generation is watching these psa’s on youtube. Decades ago the partnership laid the foundation for the future of social marketing and they are still going strong.
Aging gets under my skin. Already, at just over 40, my knees creak, my hands get stiff, and I have glimpses of how my body will betray me. Or maybe I have betrayed it. In any case, I cannot imagine how painful it would be to experience the kind of physical betrayal that comes with Parkinsons Disease. One of my best friend’s dad had it. It was painful for her to watch Parkinsons steal him bit by bit away from her. Most of us take for granted that if we want something like a pen, we reach for it and get it. We can’t understand a degenerative disease that makes simple tasks like this so extremely difficult, one that interrupts the circuits between our brains and our bodies. This awareness campaign for the Parkinsons Society of Canada does an excellent job of visualizing for us what happens when a body betrays it’s owner with this disease.
Girl power. As Americans, we’re all about empowering girls. But it wasn’t that long ago, women couldn’t vote, get equal pay for equal work or break through the glass ceiling in our country. In developing countries, gender discrimination and gender disenfranchisement are rampant. Women don’t have a voice, the means, the education or the power to impact their destiny as easily as we have in America. The Nike Foundation along with some other folks are trying to change that with the girl effect. This is a great effort and a powerful video about how with the right opportunities, young girls in developing countries can make a difference and ultimately save our world. Spread the girl power by becoming a facebook fan of the girl effect. Or better yet, donate. Do you think girls have the power to change the world? I do.
