Text to save a life
This spring, UK Transplant launched an exciting new service which gave millions of people the opportunity to join the Organ Donor Register from their mobile phone. For a trial period, people were invited to sign up by text through a high-profile outdoor advertising campaign across the south west of England.
The adverts featured the eye-catching body art images which initially appeared in national newspapers during February. The male and female adverts were hosted on over 260 free-standing poster displays and the side of telephone kiosks in March and April. The posters invited people to join the register by texting the word 'Give' to 84118 and following the simple instructions. As well as an instant acknowledgement of their registration they received a reminder of the importance of letting their family know their wishes.
"This is the first time that people have been able to join the register by texting from their mobiles, and feedback has been really positive," said Kate Baldwin, UKT’s Campaigns and Publications Officer. "We are still evaluating the responses, but we expect this registration route to appeal particularly to the 18-25 year age group who are a key target for new registrations.
"With the number of mobile phones owned in the UK now topping 72 million – that’s on average 1.2 phones per person – we’re keen to explore the potential of using mobiles to make it easier to join the register."
Following the success of the initial trial, the text campaign was extended for the Coca-Cola Football League promotion (see page 3), featuring as a major response route throughout the campaign and promoted on the giant screen at Wembley Stadium for the league play-offs.
A thorough evaluation of the text campaign is now being carried out with a view to offering it as a more permanent route for registrations. Watch this space!