#OPTINK tackles a nationwide problem (low German organ donation rate) through a culturally relevant trend (25% of Germans are tattooed) by targeting a specific group – the ink community – to trigger a clear action: get the tattoo.

By turning tattoo artists into advocates for the cause and tattoo studios into organ donor recruitment centers, the campaign managed to talk to the audience on a personal level and with a simple and straightforward CTA.

84% of Germans are in favor of organ donation, but only 0.001% effectively donate – one of the lowest rates in Europe.

This leads to 10,000 people on organ transplant lists, with 1000 dying every year (+3 per day).

Still, the government maintains an ‘opt-in’ system which requires explicit proof of consent (whatever its form) to become a donor. Regardless, the final say is given to families.

But with no national registry to record willing donors, people’s wishes easily become unknown. Consequently, over 40% of families reject organ donations due to unawareness.

In 2020, a healthcare reform bill to change to an opt-out system failed.

In 2023, donor numbers reached a decade low.

For their 20th anniversary, Junge Helden – Germany's leading organ donation awareness association – asked for a nationwide campaign that sparked conversations about the topic and its obstacles (opt-in barrier, lack of documentation, informing families).

Budget? €0.

Only 0,001% of Germans donate their organs.

But 1 in 4 Germans are inked.

Enter #OPTINK: a free tattoo that allows people to ‘opt-in’ for organ donation and spark conversations with final decision-makers, families.

An innovative solution to express consent by documenting it on your skin, becoming indisputable proof of will. On a technical level, we also converted the standard tattoo consent form into an organ donation one.

Teaming up with acclaimed tattoo artist Gara, #OPTINK taps into two key decision-making factors for ink-enthusiasts: design and meaning.

Launched at tattoo conventions and events, featuring zero-budget partnerships with celebrities, doctors and especially tattoo studios, #OPTINK took over social media and opened the discussion about a neglected topic.

By leveraging the power of communities, #OPTINK turned ink-lovers and tattoo artists into advocates for our cause and tattoo studios into organ donor recruitment centers.

1 #OPTINK = 7 lives saved.

By exploring ink-lovers' behavior, we discovered their main source of inspiration for new tattoos was tattoo artists and studios’ social channels.

Targeting the German ink community (25% of the population), and particularly 20-29-year-olds – Junge Helden's (Young Heroes, in English) primary demographic, we turned tattoo artists into our advocates and encouraged ink-enthusiasts to take action with the motto "Get inked. Give life.".

A top tattoo convention launch and events featuring acclaimed artists helped grab the general audience and specialists’ attention to spread the word and become donors.

A modular design allowing each artist/ink-lover to add their own style was essential to make #OPTINK shareable on social media.

The plan: the more artists share the campaign on social and in their shops, the more ink-lovers join the movement, sharing their tattoos with the community, creating a snowball effect.

With #OPTINK, people’s skins became a medium to spark conversations about organ donation.

#OPTINK was launched on one of Germany’s top tattoo conventions in Braunschweig. For a weekend, the #OPTINK stand was fully booked, and its design won a Mention at the event’s award show.

After that introduction to the specialized audience, a launch event with extensive media coverage and A-List celebrities getting inked live drove the idea to more and more people.

At this moment, artists and studios started joining the campaign and giving it exponential growth: they would share their interpretations, which then would be inked in people who would share them on social, constantly increasing the campaign’s reach.

In under 2 months, the campaign recorded an astounding +3000 tattoos according to the partner studios, with some studios registering over 50 daily requests, while others had six-month long waitlists.

On a zero-budget plan, #OPTINK gained track and impacted millions of ink-lovers, becoming a tattoo hit in the country.

The campaign is an on-going effort for the future of Germany’s organ donation system, but #OPTINK has already gathered nationwide results:

+250 tattoo studios converted into organ donor recruitment centers

+2500 tattoos so far, on average +70 a day.

+17500 potential lives saved (1 donor = +7 organs = +7 lives saved)

Time spent with brand: Forever.

Endorsed by A-List German celebrities such as Wilson Gonzalez Ochsenknecht, Roman Knizka, Leslie Clio, Jan Köppen and Jochen Schropp.

+1.2 Billion free impressions, with primetime coverage on TV and major press nationwide

Shared by top-tier medical entities, e.g., German Federal Centre for Health Education, National Organ Donor Day, Charité Hospital Heart Center, West German Center for Organ Transplantation, and the Official federal portal for German pharmacists...

From a 15% loss in social media followers prior to the campaign, to a 100% growth in 8 weeks following #Optink.

Germany has a key factor that makes organ donation harder to be documented: a general concern over data and privacy.

This can be seen in the fact that there is no national registry or any effective way of recording or tracking potential donors and their decision.

In other words, before #OPTINK, only the people that expressed their consent (via a card or a form) knew of their decision, unless they had informed someone.