CASE STUDY: In-taxi campaign yields better attitudes toward blood donation in China

Background

Many Chinese hold the traditional view that the human blood contains 'vital energy', which leads to a lack of blood donors in the country.

Strategy

The 'Touch Your Heart – Donate for Love' drive was launched last year and has been seen by 340 million taxi passengers. During that time period, more than 80,000 people successfully registered via the in-taxi screens in Beijing and Shanghai to become donors. 

The campaign used Touchmedia's interactive screens to help remedy many misperceptions about blood donation.

To commemorate the campaign's first anniversary, a number of celebrity donors, including Nancy Pon, Yvonne Yung, David Luo and Heyson Ma, donated blood at the Shanghai Blood Bank, and also personally urged others to follow suit.

More than 50 Chinese and foreign medical workers from the Shanghai Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, United Family Healthcare, Hua Shan Hospital and Dao Pei Hospital also took part.

Chen Qin Fen, a doctor from the hematology department at Hua Shan Hospital, clarified that people need not fear or worry about blood donation from the medical point of view. "I would like to tell everyone through my own behaviour that donating blood is harmless and can save a life,” Chen said.

Results

The effect of the campaign is beginning to show. According to a Touchmedia survey, direct recall of the campaign is showing a remarkable 70 per cent, with 14.4 per cent directly from the interactive programme in the in-taxi screens.

One of the most important findings was the dramatic improvement in attitudes to blood donation, with more than 80 per cent of taxi passengers now expressing positive views such as "We have a responsibility to help” (15.3 per cent) and “I am now giving much more consideration to blood donation” (13.1 per cent).