National Blood Week 2023: Giving Type

Client: NHSBT

How do you inspire Black audiences – which are diverse, disparate and historically distrustful of medical institutions and governments – to give blood?

This was our challenge when NHS Blood and Transplant tasked us with recruiting blood donors from Black communities to satisfy demand for rare blood types that can help treat sickle cell (a genetic blood disorder) in England. We shortlisted five individuals from different Black communities all across the country who give blood on a regular basis – “Giving Types”. We partnered with Ghanaian-British street artist, Dreph, to put these donors on a national stage, where Dreph painted a 20 ft mural in Stockwell that featured the likenesses of each ‘Giving Type’ blood donor. The unveiling of the mural marked our launch moment, at the start of National Blood Week on 12 June 2023. Coverage highlights: 11 broadcast hits including Sky News, Good Morning Britain, ITV News and BBC News. Exclusive mural build featured in The Guardian and pick-up in Independent, Mail Online and Mirror Online - totalling nine national hits and five national news posts on social media. Dreph and case studies were interviewed by Press Association which was syndicated in over 140 regional news outlets. Getty captured mural photography, which featured on Time Out social media channels. More importantly, in National Blood Week alone there were over 10,000 new registrations to donate blood, with new registrations by Black donors up 153% compared to average – which is 38% more than National Blood Week 2022.