2023 Winner
GoldBest in Experiential/Stunts
Canadian Blood Services
"Light up for Blood"
EssenceMediacom
"Light up for Blood"
EssenceMediacom
On December 24, 2022, CBS went into a state of “immediate need”, which meant that Canada’s blood supply was dangerously low to meet patient needs. Winter storms had taken a toll, and already had catastrophic impacts on blood levels. The Canadian Blood Services organization was one snowstorm away from a full-blown national blood crisis. A healthy blood supply is ideally 22,000 units on hand, while the actual supply had dipped under 12,000 units. Over 10,000 blood donations were
urgently needed.
The key objective was to get Canadians to spring into action, with speed; an ask which involves visiting blood.ca, to register to make their life-saving donation. Layered on top of this ask, the rate of cancelled appointments skyrockets in December, as people’s calendars are filled with holiday festivities. Donating time and making it to an appointment is not high on most to-do lists.
Their challenge was two-pronged: they needed to deliver mass awareness of the situation and prompt action, fast. The key business KPI was to move out of the “immediate need” state and return to “green/normal state”, when supplies can meet patient needs across the country.
Canadians know the importance of donating blood, but many assume that someone else will take care of the problem. There are over 17.5MM eligible donors in Canada, of which less than 2% donate blood or plasma. In other words, 1 in 2 people in Canada are eligible to donate blood, platelets and plasma. 1 in 81 actually do.
They were also battling for time and attention during THE most hectic time of the year: the epicentre of the holiday season. They knew that breaking-though during the holiday season was paramount to success, to return to a healthy supply of blood products.
They set out to lay a strong foundation of awareness, and tapped into their previous successes. They could not rely on this alone to prompt enough action, so they sought to create an unignorable impression in key markets, to ensure the CBS message connected with the hearts and
minds of Canadians.
Their target audience is broad; they needed to appeal to the millions of Canadian who the donation criteria. This includes active donors who have been in the system for years, lapsed donors who hadn’t visited a donation clinic in the past year and people who have never donated;
their most elusive audience.
The agency’s awareness strategy comprised of a powerful mix of proven performers; TV, radio, impactful newspaper placement, targeted DOOH, programmatic digital and social media were deployed crosscountry. These efforts ensured Canadians understood the gravity of the
situation CBS was facing.
Their high-impact advertorial placement with Toronto Star properties educated Canadians on the vital importance of donating at this key time of year. This was deployed on December 28, to drive urgency.
To command attention and motivate quick action, they were compelled to go beyond the tried and true; they sought to make an UNIGNORABLE impression.Their team pro-actively approached various Canadian cities and convinced them light up famous monuments and attraction in glowing bright red, in honour of CBS. This included the CN Tower, Niagara Falls and London City Hall & more and
also took place on December 28.
What better way to reach such a broad audience, than to light up iconic monuments and known landmarks? CBS lit up the skies and shone a light on their important ask. They counted on this activity to ignite buzz and drive earned media.
Their breakthrough strategy paid off. Canadian blood supplies returned to “normal green phase” as of January 5; 11 days after the immediate need phase was announced. The inventory and supply situation improved sufficiently to support the return to normal Green Phase for red blood cells and platelets. This was communicated from NEBMC/National Emergency Blood Management Committee and Canadian Blood services to all hospital sites
This strategy successfully established the awareness needed; the IPSOS study showed that recall spiked in Winter 2022, to the highest level in the past 5 quarters. The same study also showed a surge in intent to donate in Winter; up +10% points vs former quarter.
Their strategy drove earned media, with pick-up from media outlets including BlogTO, City News and more. The colourful displays also prompted social media shares, comments and retweets, from the east coast, to the West.
On December 28 alone, search activity spiked by 293%, for the highest volume achieved in the past 10 months. In the immediate days after, the spike in visits continued. As an added benefit, improved cost efficiencies were evident; with paid search CPC improving a staggering 70% on this date.
urgently needed.
The key objective was to get Canadians to spring into action, with speed; an ask which involves visiting blood.ca, to register to make their life-saving donation. Layered on top of this ask, the rate of cancelled appointments skyrockets in December, as people’s calendars are filled with holiday festivities. Donating time and making it to an appointment is not high on most to-do lists.
Their challenge was two-pronged: they needed to deliver mass awareness of the situation and prompt action, fast. The key business KPI was to move out of the “immediate need” state and return to “green/normal state”, when supplies can meet patient needs across the country.
Canadians know the importance of donating blood, but many assume that someone else will take care of the problem. There are over 17.5MM eligible donors in Canada, of which less than 2% donate blood or plasma. In other words, 1 in 2 people in Canada are eligible to donate blood, platelets and plasma. 1 in 81 actually do.
They were also battling for time and attention during THE most hectic time of the year: the epicentre of the holiday season. They knew that breaking-though during the holiday season was paramount to success, to return to a healthy supply of blood products.
They set out to lay a strong foundation of awareness, and tapped into their previous successes. They could not rely on this alone to prompt enough action, so they sought to create an unignorable impression in key markets, to ensure the CBS message connected with the hearts and
minds of Canadians.
Their target audience is broad; they needed to appeal to the millions of Canadian who the donation criteria. This includes active donors who have been in the system for years, lapsed donors who hadn’t visited a donation clinic in the past year and people who have never donated;
their most elusive audience.
The agency’s awareness strategy comprised of a powerful mix of proven performers; TV, radio, impactful newspaper placement, targeted DOOH, programmatic digital and social media were deployed crosscountry. These efforts ensured Canadians understood the gravity of the
situation CBS was facing.
Their high-impact advertorial placement with Toronto Star properties educated Canadians on the vital importance of donating at this key time of year. This was deployed on December 28, to drive urgency.
To command attention and motivate quick action, they were compelled to go beyond the tried and true; they sought to make an UNIGNORABLE impression.Their team pro-actively approached various Canadian cities and convinced them light up famous monuments and attraction in glowing bright red, in honour of CBS. This included the CN Tower, Niagara Falls and London City Hall & more and
also took place on December 28.
What better way to reach such a broad audience, than to light up iconic monuments and known landmarks? CBS lit up the skies and shone a light on their important ask. They counted on this activity to ignite buzz and drive earned media.
Their breakthrough strategy paid off. Canadian blood supplies returned to “normal green phase” as of January 5; 11 days after the immediate need phase was announced. The inventory and supply situation improved sufficiently to support the return to normal Green Phase for red blood cells and platelets. This was communicated from NEBMC/National Emergency Blood Management Committee and Canadian Blood services to all hospital sites
This strategy successfully established the awareness needed; the IPSOS study showed that recall spiked in Winter 2022, to the highest level in the past 5 quarters. The same study also showed a surge in intent to donate in Winter; up +10% points vs former quarter.
Their strategy drove earned media, with pick-up from media outlets including BlogTO, City News and more. The colourful displays also prompted social media shares, comments and retweets, from the east coast, to the West.
On December 28 alone, search activity spiked by 293%, for the highest volume achieved in the past 10 months. In the immediate days after, the spike in visits continued. As an added benefit, improved cost efficiencies were evident; with paid search CPC improving a staggering 70% on this date.
Credits
Martine Farrow, VP