July 17th, 2007

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PR and Marketing, The Long View
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Big Donors Show Up After Big Donor Show

Somebody ought to write a book on hoaxes driven by marketing, and evaluate whether they work or not. Apparently things have gone well for the producers of De Grote Donorshow or “The Big Donor Show”, the mock-reality TV show (well, more more than usual) in which a patients competed against each other to win the attention and kidney of a donor:

More than 12,000 people have signed up as organ donors since the airing of Dutch broadcaster BNN’s Big Donor Show, the country’s Heath Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

“Normally the register receives 3,000 to 4,000 donor forms per month.”

I’m sure it was a costly endeavour, but the attention they produced for their cause and this very measurable outcome probably makes it worthwhile.

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Comments: One Response so far

Jos van Liempd
July 18th, 2007
2:23 pm

Hi Darren,
Indeed, this hoax did a lot for the BNN broadcasters’ publicity.
12k new ‘donors’, however, I believe is disappointing. First, there is this difference between people registering as potential donor, and ‘actual’ donors.
Assumingly, only 1 in 25.000 actually becomes a donor.
In 2005 there was a ‘regular’ campaign, which brought 140.000 people to register as ‘new potential donors’.
Unfortunately the Netherlands have an opting-in rule, with assumed non-consent. To fullfil the need, it is assumed we would need some 2.500.000 – 7.500.000 people to register.

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