Canadian Blood Services conducts blood signal campaign
By Adnews Staff
Canadian Blood Services has introduces a new visual icon called the "blood signal" intended to emotionally connect Canadians to the act of donating blood when there is a heightened need. The icon is part of a new campaign developed by DDB Canada of Toronto. The initiative also makes use of statistics to encourage potential donors to think and act collectively, and to rally their community at times of need. It also includes a new website at <http://www.bloodsignal.ca> as well as social media activities conducted via Facebook and Twitter. The site hosts a video that is customized for each viewer based on their friends and activities on Facebook. In addition, various bloggers are being asked to add a blood signal widget to their sites that will change when blood doners are needed. The initiative also includes a special focus on reaching audiences in the South Asian , Filipino and Chinese communities in Vancouver and Toronto. Conventional print advertising, street ads and online banners are also being used. Media buying was handled by OMD. "With the aging Canadian population, Canadian Blood Services wants to expand its donor base now, to continue to meet evolving patient needs into the future," says Tony Steed, the organization's director of marketing and recruitment. "To help us reach our goal of annually recruiting 100,000 new donors and 30,000 new registrants for the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, we've launched a new three-year communication strategy to reach new donors."