Every day, 2 kids in Germany are diagnosed with blood cancer. Globally, over 100.000 cases are reported every year. Often a stem cell donation is their only chance for survival. The ongoing mission of the KMSZ is to secure the DNA matches that save lives. For some, the chances to find a viable match are as low as winning the lottery jackpot. Therefore, the KMSZ must continually recruit and maintain a large database of donor DNA which is shared nationally and internationally.

Young donors (18 - 30) are statistically the best candidates due to their better health and physical condition. These donors have as much as five times the likelihood of positive matches compared to other age segments. But this younger audience know they should help, but they are not taking enough action. We needed to find a way to make them want to help.

We created the first lolly that can save lives - The Life Lolli. A tasty lollipop with a few special features: A swab instead of a stick to collect DNA and a heart shape – perfect for social media. Simply finish the lollipop, rotate the swab inside your cheek for 30 seconds and send it back to KMSZ. That’s all you need to do to find out if you can save a life. By redefining the context of tissue typing and making the experience more playful, and less medical, Life Lolli taped into the hearts and minds of a younger target audience. The products simple heart design also helped create huge organic reach on social media without the need for any media spend.

The KMSZ has little in the way of a media budget. We needed a cost effective strategy to get Life Lolli on everyone’s lips. Focusing on Instagram’s young user base as our platform, we recruited a huge team of social media influencers to donate publicity, including popular German gamers, musicians, beauty vloggers, celebrities and sports stars. The free lollipop was ideal for social media sharing— posting a photo of the heart shaped lolli on their tongue would become a social media challenge, encouraging others to take the simple step to saving lives. We would partner with athletic clubs, retailer partnerships, and any company that wanted to encourage distribution among its employees. All communications would link to a dedicated Life Lolli website, answering questions about the initiative, raising awareness on the crucial lack of donors, and detailing the remarkable value of stem cells in blood cancer treatment.

The idea was launched on World Kids Cancer Day (15.02.19) thanks to the charitable help of over 100 key German influencers including gamers, musicians, comedians, fashion icons, celebrities and sports stars. Each influencer made a post (and/or Insta story) of the Life Lolli on their tongue with the corresponding #Lifelolli campaign hashtag. These posts drove traffic to the Life Lolli website where people could order a Life Lolli for free. Not only can people donate their DNA to the national register, but they can also donate their picture to social media and invite their followers to get involved. Life Lolli was also generously supported with free media including TV, print, OOH, event and digital display, creating huge national exposure. Life Lollies are even available at selected stores around the country, helping to create and entirely new channel to generate future stem cell donors.

The innovative DNA test delivered unprecedented results. With zero cost — thanks to campaign donations — we helped KMSZ extend reach, awareness, and potentially lifesaving donations above and beyond previous initiatives.

• Social media influencers reach 86,5 million + users, 628.000+ social interactions with a 97.9 positive campaign sentiment on Instagram.

• 120 major news stories generating 235 million + media impressions

• 19.9% of website visitors ordered a Life Lolli (150,000 monthly visits)

• 106 times more kit orders compared to average

• 680% increase in registrations compared to average

• New donators 11 years younger than norm (from 37 to 26 years)