Untold, the biggest music festival located in Transylvania, joined forces with Romania’s National Institute for Blood Transfusions to launch Pay with Blood, a campaign offering attractive incentives: a free one-day pass for donations in mobile centers in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, or a 30% ticket discount for any donation in one of the 42 donation centers in Romania.

And because it was located in Transylvania, Dracula endorsed our campaign.

Pay with blood was communicated in all the ticket selling points and donation centers. Posters were shared on social media, while some international artists form the festival line-up promoted our cause.

Our message got the attention of national and international press, which took out message further.

Untold, the biggest music festival located in Transylvania, joined forces with Romania’s National Institute for Blood Transfusions to launch Pay with Blood, a campaign offering attractive incentives: a free one-day pass for donations in mobile centers in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, or a 30% ticket discount for any donation in one of the 42 donation centers in Romania.

And because it was located in Transylvania, Dracula endorsed our campaign.

Pay with blood was communicated in all the ticket selling points and donation centers. Posters were shared on social media, while some international artists form the festival line-up promoted our cause.

Our message got the attention of national and international press, which took out message further.

The campaign generated more than 1000 pieces of national and international news, including: BBC, CNBC, Euro News, TIME, the Guardian and many others. In total, it produced 1.431.571 euro in earned media and 129.121.728 media impressions.

Hundreds of people queued to donate blood. As a result, some transfusion centers had to extend schedule. The regional hospital in Cluj-Napoca ran out of space for blood bags.

The action got involved people through direct interaction with the cause in the festival frame: through giving blood for supporting the cause inside a big event, supported mainly by small scale media such as stickers, in-clinic posters, flyers and outdoor ads near National Blood Centers, and most of all the tourniquets which turned the festival participants into ambassadors and thus prolonging our message for free.

Instead of trying to guilt or shock people in order to donate blood, like most donation campaigns, we decided to offer the young people an attractive incentive instead.

UNTOLD, the biggest music festival organized in Transylvania, the land of Dracula, was the perfect opportunity to reach the festival-loving youth in Romania and to convert them into regular blood donors.

The facts: Romania ranks second to last in Europe for donating blood. Only 0.2% of young people are active donors. Hospitals are in desperate need of blood.

The insight: When it comes to blood donors, the first time is the hardest. But after seeing how easy the process is, young people are more likely to become regular donors.

The idea: Untold, the biggest music festival located in Transylvania, joined forces with Romania’s National Institute for Blood Transfusions to launch Pay with Blood, a campaign that offers free tickets in exchange for blood donations. And because we’re in Transylvania, Dracula endorsed the campaign.