Over nine months of dedicated work around the globe, the World Thrombosis Day campaign capped off with a day dedicated to recognizing and spreading awareness of the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of thrombosis, commonly known as blood clots.
With one in four people worldwide dying from conditions caused by thrombosis, ensuring that medical professionals, researchers, and the general public feel empowered to spot and diagnose thrombosis is of the utmost importance. The Stanton Communications team had the privilege of partnering with the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) as the Public Relations Agency of Record for World Thrombosis Day.
As the team brainstormed unique ways to share this crucially important information, one thing became clear: it needed to do more than just share the messaging. Rather, it has to make a splash so big that communities across the globe would take notice, and in turn, increase their awareness of this cause of preventable death.
After months of securing billions of media impressions, lining up interviews with newspapers, broadcast journalists, and podcasts, participating in Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ forums, coordinating influencer campaigns, and conducting Q&A’s with leading medical spokespeople, the global teams knew more was needed.
Then, a lightbulb went off: join the globe’s top awareness campaigns, such as Breast Cancer Awareness and World AIDS Day, in illuminating major monuments.
But, what is the public relations ROI of an effort like this – one which does not offer traditional media impressions or metrics to showcase the value of the work.
Illuminating major monuments and buildings actually DOES allow a public relations team to secure the metrics needed to show their worth, while providing sharable content that the client will never forget.
From the impressions of the millions of people who see a world-renowned monument, to the social media posts shared by the monument and tourists alike, the power of a building lighting can reverberate long after the lights go out. Beyond this reach, it is not uncommon to see major news outlets, such as CNN, share in-depth coverage of major illuminations, resulting in the traditional media metrics that PR strategists are used to securing. Further, the value of photos of these illuminations can prove beneficial to the client, as they create materials to share with donors, spokespeople, and supporters of the campaign.
For World Thrombosis Day, this effort resulted in the illumination of dozens of monuments around the world, including:
Niagara Falls (USA/Canada)
CN Tower (Canada)
Government House (Newfoundland)
Erasmus MC (Netherlands)
Teatro Amazonas (Brazil)
Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)
Itaipu Hydroelectric Powerplant (Brazil)
Predio Fiesp (Brazil)
Planetario Galileo Galilei (Argentina)
Floralis Generica (Argentina)
Torres de los Ingleses (Argentina)
Puente de la Mujer (Argentina)
Angel de la Independencia (Mexico)
Niagara Falls, photographed by James Neiss
Christ the Redeemer, photographed by Joao Andrade
All of these illuminations resulted in more than 92,000,000 impressions.
Public relations efforts often comprise many unique strategies to secure the client’s specific goals. However, thinking outside the box and remaining open to the possibilities of new means of securing the intended ROI can result in the same, or better, results, all the while proving your creativity to the client.
