With the rally cry of “Don’t Shed Blood. Share Blood.” we reframed blood donation from an act of charity to one of protest.

We invited violence-weary Nigerians to think of blood not as something that divides them, but as something that unites them as one Nigeria, one nation, one blood.

We contrasted those who take up arms in violence with those those who offer their arms in peace.

For Nigeria, “Be The 1 to share blood, not shed blood” became a call for unity.

To make giving safe and easy, Abbott partnered with Rotary Clubs in the U.S. to refurbish a used bloodmobile, and shipped to Nigeria.

But first we turned it into a rolling billboard by wrapping it with Ronaldo’s image and Be The 1 message.

We engaged religious and community leaders, Nigerian Rotary Club members and radio DJs to activate them and spread the message days before the events.

Volunteer street teams canvassed neighborhoods with flyers, posters and a van with a bullhorn.

For about three days, the bloodmobile took “road show” tours through the city, stopping to conduct rallies with live bands, dancers and live speakers.

At donation events we turned bandages into badges with blue gauze and Be The 1 stickers.

Donors posed in front of the bloodmobile and received souvenir photos to share with friends, and post to their social networks.

-On the first day of operation, more blood was donated than on any previous event in the group’s history, enough to save up to 225 lives.

-The bloodmobile allows more locations to be canvassed on a single day. The group often collects from both a Christian church and a mosque on the same day.

-The bloodmobile and campaign attracted so much attention that national health ministry officials and dignitaries traveled great distances give their support (and long speeches!) at a “commissioning ceremony.”

-This in turn attracted national coverage by TV and print press.

-Discussions are underway to expand this pilot program and bring bloodmobiles to all 20 of Nigeria’s blood centers.

-The initiative helped fuel participation in a youth volunteer group created by the local Rotary and dedicated to sustaining on going blood donation efforts.

-In sum, the effort helped turn a message into a movement.