Permitting, licensing, and health code restrictions prevented on-site tattooing at the SXSW activation. Instead we provided temporary tattoos as well as tech tattoos that were both designed by an artist partner, and social media contest winners were awarded $500 towards a tattoo at a parlor of their choice.

Kidney patients often get tattoos to commemorate a transplant. We took that gesture and used it to create awareness. First, we created videos to help mobilize the NKF’s social audience to share their stories and tattoos.

Then the country’s top tattoo artists came together with a number of kidney patients to create their own commemorative tattoos. One of them was a live event and broadcast from the New York Historical Society’s “Tattooed New York” exhibition. We did another live broadcast from Three Kings Studios in Brooklyn. Our microsite shared this content and more with a tattoo flash sheet, and a database of tattoo parlors for visitors to get their own ink.

Finally, our Inkstream at SXSW allowed folks to compete for a real tattoo with temporary tattoos designed by Tommy Helm, plus tech tattoos and smart water bottles that could track hydration, a key kidney health factor.

We collected and shared stories of kidney love and commemoration on our microsite, and published three campaign videos and five patient tattoo session videos, including a Facebook Live of the inking of actor Adam David Thompson at Three Kings in Brooklyn and a video that was viewed over 9,000x.

Then, on National Kidney Day on March 8th, we hosted a live tattooing of a kidney donor at the New York Historical Society. Picked up by FOX5 and Refinery29, the collaboration with the NYHS exhibit, Tattooed New York, and Inked Magazine brought the National Kidney Foundation to entirely new audiences.

Lastly, we activated at SXSW with temporary tattoos by Tommy Helm and tech tattoos and smart water bottles that monitored hydration. A Facebook Live stream was viewed over #x and provided a way for the NKF affiliate network to see how the campaign could come to life at year-round events.

On National Kidney Day, #HeartYourKidneys was the top mention on Thunderclap with a social reach of 900K. The campaign was covered in each of the 50 states, with over 2700 articles and airtime on local and national television channels. Combining traditional, earned, and social media, our total audience reach was estimated at 140 million. Our campaign and Scars & Ink videos received over 233,000 total views.

Compared to an average month on social media, mentions of NKF quintupled, follower growth doubled, and posts saw a 20% increase in engagement - showing that the campaign hit home with the NKF community and expanded audience reach across platforms so that more people than ever were showing kidney love.

A blend of social media, digital, video, experiential, and partnerships led to a national and multi-touchpoint live awareness campaign that educated the public about and inspired action against a disease that affects 10% of the world's population. The multi-faceted live campaign championed taking our kidney health into our own hands, shedding light on the often misunderstood or undiagnosed issue of Chronic Kidney Disease. In inking stories (literally and figuratively - and digitally) of living donors and recipients, the public was inspired to learn more about their own vital organs and invest in their own vitality.

It’s easy to feel powerless when you have a degenerative disease, but there is power in taking an action to combat both the symptoms and the stereotypes. The campaign could not be about social media activism, but about action, and counteracting apathy by educating and encouraging people to put real changes and commitments in ink.

The tattoos represented both that commitment (and NKF’s goal of being a more activist organization) as well as the bond between transplant donors and recipients that is often commemorated with ink. Already native to kidney disease treatment, we used the tattoo mechanism to bring the CKD experience beyond the kidney community. It didn’t hurt that tattoos are basically the badge of “cool” - something kidneys just aren’t - providing unique and shareable art that was highly individualistic and was a natural fit among the demographic we were aiming to reach early on in their life.

Situation.

26 million American adults have kidney disease. Most of them don’t even know it.

For 67 years the National Kidney Foundation has tirelessly worked to understand, treat, and prevent Chronic Kidney Disease. But as hard as they tried, kidneys weren’t cool and the NKF was seen as a scientific organization.

Brief.

Engage existing and new audiences with NKF and CKD in a tangible and active way - counteracting slacktivism and social media activism to promote real commitment and change. Inspired by commemorative tattoos between kidney donors and recipients, we aimed to imprint the message of kidney love on everyone’s mind - and on their skin - in a way that was more “cool” than “clinical”.

Objectives.

We’d raise awareness for the organization and the disease, increasing understanding and relevance of both while ensuring a future where we were all more kidney healthy.