The Challenge

More than 10,000 people are waiting for a life-saving transplant in Texas. While 90% of Americans support organ donation, 44% of Texans are not yet registered as a donor. Registering as a donor is an act of generosity that can save lives, and inspiring people to take action on this personal decision requires a new, more inclusive approach.

The Solution

As one of the most diverse states in the nation, our strategy and approach required getting to the core of the challenge and understanding the people who could help us overcome it. We began by researching and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, using those insights to develop creative executions that reflected the needs, ethos and unique characteristics of our key audiences. Bright, bold colors were used to complement the primary Donate Life brand colors and provoke a sense of pride, hope, solidarity and life. By tapping into the psyche and cultural traits of the state’s diverse communities, the campaign visual narrative created a space for everyone to feel seen, welcomed, celebrated and proud to be both Texans and registered organ donors.

Key Audiences

Eleven of Texas’ 254 counties were identified as focus areas based on lower than average donor registration rates. Within our 11 focus counties, we further refined our key audiences based on demographics, common questions and misconceptions about donation, potential cultural barriers and language. The entire campaign was produced in both English and Spanish to ensure the content and messaging are accessible to the targeted communities.

The Faces of True Texans

We honored the legacy of organ donors by transforming the photographs of real people impacted by donation and transplantation into bold, vibrant illustrations. This visual approach was intentionally chosen to ensure that as people engaged with the campaign they were given an opportunity to see and connect with their own sense of humanity.

Social Media Ads Created Strong Engagement

We saw overwhelmingly positive reactions to ads on social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, with 99% of in-platform reactions being likes or loves. The campaign inspired many to share their own personal story or connection to donation in the comments leading to further organic engagement and brand awareness.

Creating Engaging Moments with Animated Videos

Short videos were produced to engage users with the campaign’s messages on the website, top local publications like Texas Monthly, at movie theaters, on YouTube and across digital channels, resulting in above average view-rate performance.

Partnering with a Trusted Texas Brand

We partnered with the beloved Texas Monthly magazine and corresponding website that is the “authority on being Texan” and boasts a monthly brand footprint of 34.6 million people. A six month ad placement leveraged their strong brand recognition and reputation to elevate Donate Life Texas’ brand and provide information about donor registration through a campaign collections page, digital run-of-site advertising, sponsored social content and a full-page, full-color print ad.

• 5,959,476
  impressions across print and digital campaigns
• 6:07
  average time on campaign collections pages
• 15.25%
  click thru rate on digital Newsletters

Building a Robust Surround Sound Campaign

While digital media was the cornerstone of the campaign, traditional media in strategic areas helped us further reach our target audiences. Billboards in Dallas connected with Texas State Fairgoers and reinforced our NASCAR partnership with Joey Gase Racing. Our Houston billboards were located in primarily Black and Hispanic neighborhoods to drive deeper awareness. Radio, a highly effective way to reach the Hispanic community, was targeted in south Texas in both Spanish and English.

Post-launch Campaign Results

The awareness campaign amplified the need for registration, which was confirmed by a campaign and brand recall study eight months after the campaign’s launch. More than 800,000 Texans registered, including 199,000 in the 11 target counties.

• 800,000
  new registered donors
• 16%
  increase in people reporting seeing organ donation advertised on social media
• 9%
  increase in respondents saying they are familiar with Donate Life Texas
• 9.24% average increase in donor registrations for Texans age 55+ in target counties
• 7.06% average increase in donor registrations for Texans age 15 -17 in target counties
• 4.63% average increase in donor registrations for male Texans in target counties