German Red Cross: GIVE BLOOD. GIVE POWER. – CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN. [

Credits & Description:

Type of entry: Practices & Specialisms
Category: Celebrity Endorsement
Advertiser: GERMAN RED CROSS
Product/Service: BLOOD DONATION
Agency: JUNG von MATT Hamburg, GERMANY
Client: GERMAN RED CROSS
Product: BLOOD DONATION
Entrant: JUNG von MATT Hamburg, GERMANY
Type of Entry: Practices & Specialisms
Category: Celebrity Endorsement
Entrant Company : JUNG von MATT Hamburg, GERMANY
Advertising Agency : JUNG von MATT Hamburg, GERMANY
PR Agency : MHOCH4 Hamburg, GERMANY
Executive Creative Director: Doerte Spengler Ahrens (Jung Von Matt)
Executive Creative Director: Jan Rexhausen (Jung Von Matt)
Creative Director: Felix Fenz (Jung Von Matt)
Art Director: Savina Mokreva (Jung Von Matt)
Copywriter: Robin Stam (Jung Von Matt)
Idea/Concept: Victor Segovia Navarro (Jung Von Matt)
Idea/Concept: Javier Gelpi De Fez (Jung Von Matt)
Managing Director: Katja Kraus (Jung Von Matt)
Managing Director: Christoph Metzelder (Jung Von Matt)
Account Director: Julia Schreiber (Jung Von Matt)
Project Manager: Lisa Waehrer (Jung Von Matt)
Agency Producer: Danilo Kloefer (Jung Von Matt)
Director: Soeren Brandenburg (Mhoch4)
Cameraman: Juergen Alswede (Mhoch4)
Sound Engineer: Hendrik Bleier (Mhoch4)
Styling: Yén Alswede (Mhoch4)
Editorial Management: Daniel Duendar (Mhoch4)
Content Director: Nadine Dominicus (Mhoch4)
Head Of Producing: Anna Lena Tisson (Mhoch4)
Managing Director: Bernhard Jungwirth (Mhoch4)

Describe the campaign/entry:
Objectives: Every day, about 17.000 children and adults in Germany are in need of blood transfusions. To fulfill this enormous need, the German Red Cross needed a campaign to get more blood donors.
But for sick children to survive, they not only need blood, but also a lot of fighting power and will to win. How can we motivate sick children and get more blood donors at the same time?

For "Give Blood. Give Power.", famous soccer players from Germany donated their blood for sick children. They function as role models for amateur soccer players and other fans in a big PR-campaign. Additionally, the soccer players promoted the action on their popular social networks so the message spread to their followers.

As most children in Germany are huge soccer fans, the idea of having the blood of their favourite football player running through their veins encourages them and gives new hope. On the labels of the blood bags the young patients could see which of their football idols helped them win their fight. Additionally, a billboard campaign and posters appealed for blood donations from regional football clubs in Germany.

And this worked. In just the first three weeks of the campaign over 9,000 amateur football players registered as donors.

The PR-campaign made its way through all platforms: television, online video channels, Facebook and Twitter. Free media earnings as a result of the campaign were over 1.5 Million Euro.

Describe the brief from the client:
The Goal: awareness for the lack of blood donors in Germany and turning the perception of the general public towards a more positive image of blood donation and give it a more heroic image.

Target: all people in Germany who are authorized to donate blood and sick children who get hope because of the action.

Results:
- In just the first three weeks of the campaign over 9000 amateur football players registered as donors.

- The campaign was published on almost 500 online platforms (journalistic and video platforms) and got a total of 18 million views.

- 700.000 followers reached on social media.

- The campaign got coverage on almost every television network in Germany. Free media earnings of the exposure on national television: more than 1,5 million Euro.

- The sick children got more hope and power because of the action. The effect of this only time will tell...

Execution:
We asked Germany's most famous soccer players to form a special, club-independent team that helps sick children in the fight against their disease. Many players agreed on this.

After this, we issued press releases that soccer player Julian Draxler was going to give blood for the action.

We made special banderoles so children could see which of their famous soccer players joined the action to give them hope. This would also draw attention from people in the hospital and the press.

One by one, we revealed the other football legends, in order to spread the PR-message. Additionally we launched a billboard campaign and used posters to appeal for donations of blood from regional football clubs all over Germany.

The Situation:
The German Red Cross is an organisation that saves people, they help in emergency situations, help poor people and those in need.

One of their tasks is to get more blood donations. Every day, about 17.000 people in Germany are in need of blood. And there are not enough blood donors. With almost no budget, the Red Cross wanted to get attention for this problem and motivate others to do something about it.

The Strategy:
We wanted to take blood donation out of the sterile medical environment and bring it to an environment where most Germans can identify with: football.

And we wanted the children to perceive their necessary blood bags not just as means of survival, but as symbols of hope and power.