Talk about it
"Talk about organ donation!": this is the message of the campaign created by Startbahnwest and launched by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) in collaboration with Swisstransplant.
The campaign aims to encourage people to clearly express their will. More than 80 percent of Swiss people are in favor of organ donation, yet the number of donors has fallen this year. Relatives are often unaware of the deceased person's will, as only a minority have informed the family or filled out a donation card. The new campaign aims to encourage everyone to talk about this sensitive issue.
Today, around 1,500 people are waiting for an organ donation in Switzerland, and over the years the waiting list is getting longer and longer. Every week, two people die because they did not receive a transplant. Even though the majority of Swiss people say they are in favor of organ donation, few inform their relatives of their wishes. As a result, it is mostly the bereaved families who have to decide, and of them, in case of doubt, every second one rejects organ removal.
A campaign that gets people talking
The FOPH's new campaign aims to encourage people to talk to each other about organ donation - an intimate topic, but one that also stands for solidarity. "Life is sharing" and "Talk about organ donation!" are the campaign's two slogans: it's not enough to think about the subject; you also have to tell others about your decision. The campaign, launched in collaboration with Swisstransplant, will run for four years and has a budget of 1.65 million per year. The spot combines subtle humor with unusual situations to defuse the sensitive issue. Further information is available on the website Life-is-sharing.ch to find.
Campaign as part of an action plan
The number of donors per million inhabitants increased from 14.4 in 2014 to 17.4 in 2015 (all categories combined). However, the trend for 2016 is clearly downward. In the first half of the year, the number of donors per million inhabitants fell to 11.7. The federal government's goal is to reach the mark of 20 donors per million inhabitants by 2018. To this end, the Federal Council launched the action plan "More organs for transplantation" in 2013, of which the present campaign is a part. The action plan aims to implement and coordinate the various measures to increase the number of donors. The federal government can count on the most important players in this field and on the cantons, which play a decisive role in coordinating activities in the hospitals.
Following a two-stage, selective tender process, the Zurich agency Startbahnwest was awarded the entire communications mandate for the organ donation campaign 2016-2020 and is thus responsible for all communications measures. The TV spot was produced in collaboration with Shining Pictures Zurich. Contcept in Zurich is responsible for the PR and social media measures, also in collaboration with Startbahnwest.
