Marketing that Made a Difference

Every once in a while, a campaign comes along, and you know that it’s special. Maybe it’s a cause that you strongly believe in, a story that needs to be told or the creative is just really unique. I guess that’s how I felt from the very beginning about MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute’s “Living Donor” campaign. For me, it was a combination of all three.

My brother was an organ donor recipient, so organ donation is something that is very close to my heart. In meeting with the transplant team at MedStar Georgetown, we learned that the only way to reduce the wait time for organs was to promote the idea of living organ donation for kidney and liver. Not only is this something that the average person is unaware of, but those in need don’t know how to ask their family and friends to consider being a living donor. And finally, Tom McGivney, Steve Merino and team developed an eye-catching, truly emotional campaign that told the stories of living organ donation.

Not only were those stories effective, but they also earned AB&C and MedStar awards. We are all very excited to have recently been recognized with a Gold Award in the Total Campaign with Television category by the Healthcare Marketing Awards, and an Award of Excellence and Best in Show from the Mid-Atlantic Society for Strategy and Market Development.

To most, these awards alone would be the sign of a kick-ass campaign. But for me, what really makes this campaign special is the people whose lives it’s saved. To date, six people have chosen to be a living donor as a result of this campaign. Think about that—six selfless people have chosen to give a part of themselves to save someone they may or may not know. They’ve invested their time to go through the evaluation process, go to the hospital for testing and then undergo surgery to save a life.

So yes, I’m super proud that this campaign has been so highly recognized by our peers, but I’m most proud that we helped MedStar Georgetown make a difference and save six lives. Oh, and there are still more people in the pipelines to be potential donors.