SANBS’s hyperimmune campaign won gold at the prestigious Prism Awards on Sunday night.

The Prism Awards are dedicated to outstanding achievements in the field of public relations and communications management in Southern Africa.

“We’ve been struggling with the shortage of hyperimmune plasma regular donors in the past years. And we wanted a campaign that would not only attract new donors but would ensure regular donation,” says Silungile Mlambo, chief marketing officer.

Becoming a hyperimmune plasma donor is a complex process, as donors need to have received a rabies vaccine and their blood must have a high antibody count. Research showed that a key demographic were people who regularly work with animals, as vaccination is a life-saving necessity for them – and this is a rich field of potential donors.

In partnership with our integrated communications agency, Flow Communications, we launched an innovative hyperimmune plasma donation campaign at Onderstepoort Veterinary College in Pretoria. They have a cohort of about 600 students who are prime candidates to become donors.

Our goal was to raise the awareness, build a solid relationship with the university and students with a key objective to build a solid number of hyperimmune donors. We had two events which were held at the Onderstepoort campus where we spoke directly to the students about why they should become hyperimmune donors. Our colleagues were readily available to start the entire process from the sign-up to the testing process. At the time of entering the Prism Awards, 171 students had signed up to become VIP hyperimmune plasma donors!

Thank you to all – we win together!!