CAUSE RELATED

SJ Public Relations supported The Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Network by raising awareness of the need for organ donations among all audiences.

OPPORTUNITY

SJPR research indicated that there are many misconceptions about organ donation …and many do not believe the facts about the organ donation process. Some of the most common misconceptions are; that only the wealthy or famous receive organs, others fear that their organs will be sold on the black market or that doctors will allow them to die in order to harvest their organs.

Additionally, we also learned that about 43 percent of Illinois residents where not registered as organ donors, indicating a large opportunity for growth for the GOH to increase potential donors.

SJPR was tapped by Gift of Hope to develop a robust marketing communications campaign and community relations program to not only drive awareness for the organization, but to help disseminate the truth about organ donation and increase organ donors.

STRATEGY

SJPR developed a comprehensive marketing communications and community relations program targeting Gift of Hope’s key markets: Illinois and northwest Indiana.

We then created an annual PR events calendar to support the Gift of Hope’s top donor awareness-registrations initiatives and managed the organization’s ongoing “News Bureau” to generate top of mind awareness across all media channels.

Top Gift of Hope initiatives included:

  • National Donate Life Month
  • National Minority Donor Awareness Day
  • National Donor Sabbath Day
  • GOH’s Rose Parade Sponsorship Program

Additional PR outreach coincide with key consumer time pegs throughout the year (i.e. mother’s day, father’s day, etc.) allowing the organization to extend its messaging year round

RESULTS

  • Television coverage on every major news affiliate (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, Telemundo and Univision) throughout the state
  • Over $1.5 million in earned media
  • 13 MM local media impressions
  • Reached nearly 5,000 church members through grassroots outreach
  • In 2012, we obtained the World Record for most people to register as organ donors in one day during the University of Illinois’ “Quad Day” celebration. Also 2,262 new donors were added to Illinois’ registration list.