Weekly Social Marketing Sighting by Nancy R. Lee
President, Social Marketing Services, Inc.
Affiliate Instructor, University of Washington
Strategic Advisor, C+C
Social Issue: Organ, Blood and Stem Cell Donations
Social Marketing Strategy: Benefit of Performing a Behavior
Where Sighted: Mercer Island Reporter, January 1, 2025
Behavior: Stem Cell Donation
A 22 year old resident on Mercer Island was influenced frequently by his parents who were said to have “always taught him about giving back to the community through volunteerism and charity work and making an impact on others.”
His action made the front page of a local newspaper, with a photo of him making a stem cell donation with the following story:
In December, he learned that he was a match to aid a 24-year-old leukemia patient and learned that “If all goes well and both he and I consent to it, then we can contact each other and potentially meet up after a year.”
And as a great example of a nonmonetary incentive, the newspaper article included the following quote from a friend of the donor’s family.
“Having been through the ordeal of seeing cancer’s devastating effects up close, what David is doing is not only incredible but a heroic effort that could save the life of another.”