2016 highly commended: NHS Blood and Transplant, Effective Marketing Communications - case study

The number of new blood donors coming forward has plummeted 40% in the past decade.

NHS Blood and Transplant needed to recruit a new generation of donors to safeguard the supply for the future, particularly from the 17-24 year old age group.

To put blood donation back on the agenda, Engine launched ‘Missing Type’ where the letters of the blood groups A, O and B disappeared from society.

The activity combined to illustrate the problem, trigger a participatory social media movement and garner blanket national news coverage, all amplifying the call to action for new blood donors. Triggered by staged partner content it was a simple, affirmative and inclusive movement anyone could join in with – from individuals to the world’s biggest brands.

It was a week that saw the ‘o’ disappear from Downing Street, the Daily Mirror change its masthead and the likes of Google, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Arsenal FC and Spotify rip up their logo guidelines to join the movement. The pervasiveness of the idea left no corner of the country untouched.

Proving to be a strong visceral reminder of how much society needs those simple letters, Missing Type became a catalyst for tens of thousands of people not just dropping their type, but registering to donate blood. Over 30,000 people registered as new blood donors in the first 10 days alone – equivalent to 100,000 lives saved or improved.