Donations via SMS have a low rate in Romania (1 in 10.000 SMSs is a donation). People donate for specific cases when they see the sick child. It's even more difficult yo make them be empathic with the parents of those children. The general feeling is that parents don't even count in the equation because they are meant to resist no matter what, no matter where for their children. People are not exposed to the parents' drama from hospitals. They don't see those people on the verge of depression who have no place to live but a hospital chair.

THE IDEA:

A 24/7 SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATION

To raise awareness we wanted to transport the hospitals' reality to somewhere it can't be ignored. So we placed an empty hospital chair behind the window of an down-town gallery and invited Romania to a solidarity gesture, while live-streaming everything: occupy the chair 24/7 until the money is raised.

To encourage people to become part of this campaign by donating and subscribing to sit on the chair, we invited influencers to donate their time and help spread the message. Together with actors, singers, bloggers and other public figures in Romania, we created an online video about these parents' struggle and how they became welded to the chair that nobody wants to sit on.air.

In a famous gallery in Bucharest we recreated the atmosphere of a hospital room, placing an empty chair next to a bed. The ensemble was visible from the street and to make it stand out even more, on the outside we placed a display that would update in real time the amount donated. What happened in the interior of the gallery, was live-streamed 24/7 on Youtube for everyone to acknowledge it.

Between 3-26 November 2017, people changed shifts relentlessly, encouraging more and more to participate. With the help of 636 people, the chair remained occupied day and night, making it the biggest solidarity gesture ever seen in Romania. The gallery became a living outdoor showcasing a hurtful reality through its windows.

60 celebrities and influencers, from different areas joined the campaign and sat on the chair next to common people, redefining the meaning of togetherness beyond age, status or religion.

IMPACT:

The campaign changed the SMS donation campaigns benchmark in Romania by raising the biggest amount of money in a record period of time. A shelter able to accommodate 30.000 people a year will soon open and others are to be built.

Target: 200.000 euros

Raised: 500.000 euros in 3 weeks and 1.000.000 euros by now & counting

RESPONSE:

2.000 people registered to take a seat

240.000 reactions in social media

IMPRESSIONS: 35 million

200 different news on TV, online and radio, 10% TV prime time news with a minimum length of 3 minutes and a 15 minutes TV story, within the social show with the highest audience in Romania.

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE:

Engaging people not only to donate (1 in 10.000 SMS is a donation in Romania) but to give their own time and be the campaign.

AWARENESS:

2.000.000 online video views

66% organic reach of total Romanian Facebook population

To raise the 200.000 Euros needed, the campaign's main fundraising tool was the SMS donation. It was a high-stakes attempt considering that only 1 in 10.000 SMS represents a donation in Romania. Given the ambitious target and people's low engagement towards donations, we had to go for a totally different approach:

FROM COMPASSION TO BEING A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER

Most of the times, donation campaigns aim for people's compassion. But we wanted to make people feel empowered, turning the SMS into a tool they could use to build the alternative system that Romania needed.

We also gave people access to the campaign itself, engaging them in the making. Aside from donating, sitting on that chair in public display was a powerful personal statement.

Core target: reactive civil society, people who militate for what they believe in, 25-45 y.o, urban.

THE SITUATION:

In Romania 5000 children fight with cancer everyday. Out of 10 cases diagnosed with cancer, 7 come from families with limited financial means. They don't afford to travel for treatment at paediatric oncology clinics, which are usually located far from their homes. Paying for a hotel is something beyond their reach and the only accommodation Romanian hospitals can provide for their parents is a chair next to the hospital bed.

That’s the main reason why children are diagnosed late, examinations are being postponed and the over-all chances of healing are reduced. Romanian children recovery odds are 30% to 60% compared to the European average of 75%.

THE BRIEF:

Raise the money to build a shelter for these parents near the biggest oncology centre in Romania.

THE OBJECTIVES:

Convince people to donate 200.000 Euros via SMS and help children's access to treatment.