Brown, Curtis. "Direct help for life after death: as staggering donor shortages worsen the plight of thousands awaiting organ transplants, health organisations are using the direct marketing lifeline to appeal to the population's better nature." Precision Marketing 21 Nov. 2003: 12. General OneFile. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.
Of the thousands of people in need of blood transfusions or organ transplants every day, many have to wait for their miracle, and some face death.
The already stark situation confronting the National Health Service and its patients has recently got worse: blood stockpiles have fallen nearly halfway below daily quotas, while poor organ donor registration levels are doing little to erode the 7,118-strong UK transplant waiting list. Less than 2,800 transplants were carried out last year.
Against this backdrop, NHS UK Transplant has launched its biggest recruitment drive to date through strategic agency Entire (PM last week).
Inserts in driving authority DVLA's vehicle licence renewal mailings are being tested to boost the NHS Organ Donation Register from 10.7 million to 16 million by 2010. In the long term, the strategy could involve targeting 36 million households every year.
The push could prove the lifeblood of the service. NHS UK Transplant marketing and campaigns manager Angle Burton says: "Since 1994, we have collected over 4.6 million names from people opting in as they receive full driving licences. The insert strategy will offer regular information on organdonation, so that people can approach friends and family about what they want to happen when they die.
"Donor cards can be lost or misplaced. Our aim is to make registration easy, whether by phone or online."
The service was handed registration responsibility from the Department of Health in April, and if the latest campaign is successful, NHS UK Transplant will consider increasing its marketing budget.
Although 90 per cent of the UK population agree with organ donation as a crucial service, only 18 per cent either hold donor cards or are registered. To boost this level, the cost of data acquisition needs to be low. NHS UK Transplant has to try to juggle the cost of data acquisition with outlay on separate responsive campaigns targeting blacks, whites and Asians.
As it is more cost-effective to capture data online than by phone, Entire used an emotive campaign to drive people to www.uktransplant.org.uk.
Client services director Ryan Shannon says that the agency faces other issues with the insert design. "The creative is being made to tight specifications," he says. "The DVLA embarks on high-volume mailings through machine-filled envelopes, so the insert has to be light and the right size.
"Instead of just donor card holders, the organisation requires registered donors, too, so it is involving the Internet much more. Our creative work and copy definitely appeal to the emotive side to encourage people to consider the option."
Despite already having a 1.8 million-strong database, the National Blood Service (NBS) rolls out regular integrated activity to get its message across. It has to cater for holiday periods--when donor levels generally dip--and remind people not to donate blood while they are ill.
NBS direct marketing manager Graham Brown says: "Historically, we have not experienced the low levels of blood that we currently have. Some people are blaming viruses or an outbreak of flu. Either way, we are responding to the sudden lack of supply.
"Our mailing frequency is based on the fact that people cannot donate more than three times a year. But we do continue targeting if there is no response."
For acquisition campaigns, the NBS sponsors the Claritas Shopping Survey and targets its cold prospects. It cites "practically the whole UK population" as its market, with a database demographic of ABC1s.
All approaches to boost donor registers pluck at the heartstrings, but people are not always recruited through direct mail. The National Kidney Research Fund mainly uses PR-led events to raise awareness. Of the 7,118 people on the transplant waiting list, some 6,335 are waiting for a kidney, highlighting how vital it is for organisations to fine-tune targeting of potential donors.
As 90 per cent of the population already understands the benefits of donating blood or having a donor card, direct marketing's powers of persuasion might finally get them to demonstrably contribute to the cause.
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