In Lebanon, blood donation awareness isn’t high and neither are blood donations. All people see are generic blood donation drives and turn apathetic towards them.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, on the Day of Ashura, many Muslims from one sect engage in the experience of group blood-letting to mourn for religious reasons.

We transformed that newsworthy Day of Ashura from one where people spilled blood to one where they were encouraged to donate blood.

In hijacking a major newsworthy event, across integrated channels, creating buzz from people and media, we created a national record for blood donations; the highest-ever in Lebanon's history.

Donner Sang Compter is a Lebanese NGO that promotes voluntary blood donation. It helps patients in need of blood by linking them to voluntary blood donors registered on its database, or by raising stocks of blood banks through low-budget blood donation drives and their mobile clinics.

But, in Lebanon, this blood is never enough, especially in those times of strife.

Compounded by the fact that there is no central blood bank, patients in Lebanon are forced to turn to social media in desperation.

So, Donner Sang Compter sought help to create awareness about the importance of giving blood. The goal was to create buzz about blood donation by letting people know that it was meaningful to donate, and then enabling them to do so without much effort.

The big challenge here was to break through, on a low budget, in a cluttered media landscape and a politically-charged, war stricken country.

"Blood Unity": A new meaning to sacrificing blood.

We tapped into an extremely relevant occasion: Ashura. It is the tenth day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. It marks the day that Hussain, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala.

On the Day of Ashura, a day of public mourning, Muslims in Lebanon commemorate the death of Imam Hussein by spilling their blood.

While these men willingly spill blood on the streets, Lebanon remains in desperate need of anyone willing to donate blood to those in need.

So, for Donner Sang Compter, we did something daring given the region and its sensitivities when it comes to anything to do with cultural and religious traditions, and leveraged the Day of Ashura as the stage, and created an initiative that encouraged those who spilled blood for sacrifice, to donate it instead.

Audience insight:

For some Muslims, Ashura is a solemn day of mourning the martyrdom of Hussein in 680 AD at Karbala in modern-day Iraq. It is marked with mourning rituals and parades on streets re-enacting the martyrdom and the sacrifice through bloodletting. We were targeting these Muslims who’d participate in blood-letting.

Communications opportunity:

What they hadn’t been told before was how their blood that is usually spilled could be used to benefit someone else if they only donated it.

PR strategy:

Give a new meaning to sacrificing blood. Educate about how their blood could save lives, by converting and transforming an occasion where they spilled blood into one where they donated blood to those in need.

Being sensitive:

We were addressing a sensitive religious topic that could ignite sectarian conflict. It could be seen as culturally offensive. We needed to show empathy and give a deeper meaning to the occasion.

We had to stand out visually. So, for the visual identity, we tapped into imagery used over generations by Islamic groups to summon followers. For the logo design, we incorporated the Kufic script; one of most valuable Arabic calligraphies. The geometric design allowed us to animate parts of the emblem to highlight blood circulation and donation levels.

On the Day of Ashura, we persuaded Muslim preachers to come out and talk in media and publications, encouraging people to become blood donors as an alternative way of demonstrating the sacrifice.

Ensuring visibility, outdoor billboards, banners and flags invited participation, as did social media posts and online PR.

We generated political commitment and support from health and religious authorities who advocated participation.

Across channels, we not only brought the message about voluntary blood donation to new audiences but also provided increased opportunities for blood donation sessions at mobile sites and static sites.

RESULT 1: A CHANGE IN BEHAVIOUR.

We turned bloodletting into blood giving. A donor who formerly spilled blood said, “I used to be one of those people that struck my head with an open razor until I realised that the blood spilled on the floor, was needed by so many others.”

RESULT 2: RECORD HIGH BLOOD DONATION.

Blood Donations in Lebanon hit a national record with this campaign. We collected 700 blood units; 400% more than what’s expected from a standard donation drive.

RESULT 3: LIVES SAVED.

These blood units donated saved 1965 lives, compared to 360 from the usual 3-day blood donation drives.

RESULT 4: AWARENESS AND FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FIRST NATIONAL BLOOD BANK.

While the amount of blood raised was important, what was also important was the amount of awareness raised among Lebanese, and this has helped the nation take strides towards creating Lebanon’s first National Blood Bank.