Last week, we won two top public relations awards for an inspiring campaign that boosted the number of sign -ups to the NHS organ donor register.

Liquid’s campaign for the British Transplant Games, which aimed to celebrate the positive effects of organ donation, scooped two Gold Awards for ‘Not-for-Profit Campaign’ and ‘Healthcare Campaign’ at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Pride Awards.

The annual British Transplant Games are organised by Transplant Sport, the largest UK charity raising awareness of organ donation and the benefits that sport can have post-transplant. There are 6,000 people waiting for a transplant in the UK; three people die every day due to a shortage of donor organs.

Liquid developed #ItTakes2 as an over-arching message for the 10-month campaign, as it takes just two minutes to sign up to the Organ Donor Register.

Highlighting powerful case studies centring on transplant patients, and recruiting celebrity ambassadors and supporters including television stars Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield, helped the campaign to gain 44 pieces of broadcast coverage including “Lorraine,” Sky News, Channel 5 News, Channel 4 News, ITV and BBC. The coverage figure was up 46% on the client’s target.

Liquid also achieved 89 pieces of regional coverage and 25 national articles, including a front page story in the Daily Mirror. During the campaign, there was a 7.2 % increase in organ donor registrations, which broke the target by 75%.

Commenting on the award wins, judges from CIPR said:

“This was an exemplar campaign based around clear, measurable objectives. Liquid demonstrated how strategic planning can lead to meaningful impact, not just for the organisation but the population as a whole.

This campaign was original, with a simple creative and call to action that the audience would understand. The coverage achieved spanned broadcast, print, online and social, all leading to fantastic awareness. Moreover, it delivered true social impact and is a shining example of the positive power that PR can have.”

Lisa Downes, Channel Islands PR director at Liquid, said: “Organ donation is such an important topic, especially now the laws are changing and it’s more important than ever to have the conversation with loved ones.

“Liquid is extremely proud of the work we are doing with Transplant Sport and the British Transplant Games and this year also supported on the World Transplant Games as they came to Newcastle. We are looking forward to supporting on the British and European Transplant Games’ in 2020, sharing more amazing stories and doing everything we can to increase sign-ups to the organ donor register.”

CIPR hosts the leading awards programme within the PR industry, celebrating the outstanding work in public relations and communications across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This year the awards attracted over 1,000 entries from public relations teams, consultancies and individuals across the UK.

This year’s awards took place at the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre on Friday 27^th September 2019.

To find out more about organ donation, visit: https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/