DONOR CENTER PLAN BOOK

TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Meet the Team .............................................. 1
Introduction .................................................... 2
Background / SWOT .................................. 3
Statement of Problem ............................ 4
Role of Communications ...................... 5
Demographics ............................................... 6
Communications Strategy ................... 7
Creative Solutions ....................................... 8
Media Solutions ............................................ 9
Results .................................................................. 17
 TOP TIER AGENCY

Alyssa Gendron Skye Harper Cenielle Rodriguez

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Top Tier is a passionate group of individuals in public relations
and advertising that have congregated to create a campaign
proposal for Roswell Park Donor Center. With a collaborative mix
of Bcreative
RANDING skills, Top Tier MA isRconfident
KETING that their
P U Bout-of-the-box
LIC
RELATIONS
ideas
Peter F.and
Druckercombined
- “The creative skills- “Don’t
John D. Rockefeller will help Roswell Park gain
purpose of business is to be afraid to give up the good
more
createawareness of theirtoorganization’s
and keep a customer” go for the great.” donorJohn
center and donor
D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good

promotions. to go for the great.”

The overall goal of this campaign is to create awareness for

Roswell Park Donor Center services and their need for platelet
donations while  promoting their events and incentives for new
donors. This campaign will be targeted to 18 to 35 year olds
located in the Buffalo, New York area.

The main focus for the awareness of Roswell Park Donor Center,
promotion of events and the  incentives for new donors will be
promoted by creating fliers, tablings, social media and proposals
for certain changes to suit the key public’s schedule for donation.
Focusing on these components of promotion for Roswell Park
Donor Center will be both effective and cost efficient, which is
vital when dealing with matters pertaining to a not-for-profit
organization.
 BACKGROUND
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and
treatment center founded in 1898. It serves the Erie County in Buffalo,
New York. Roswell was the first dedicated medical facility for cancer
research and treatment.
As a public benefit corporation, they set the standards for
B R A NDING
multidisciplinary approachMto A Rthe
K E Thighest
ING quality. PThe
U B LDonor
IC Center at
RELATIONS
Roswell
Peter Park is- a
F. Drucker department
“The that
John stands
D. Rockefeller on its own founded in 1940, and
- “Don’t
purpose of business is to be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
is responsible
create and keepfor transfusingtomore
a customer” go for thethan
great.” 17,000 blood products a year. The
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
need for blood products is essential to the center’s patients.

SWOT 
 STATEMENT OF
PROBLEM
The Roswell Donor Center communicated that
their organization’s marketing,
BRANDING
PR, and
PUBLIC
advertising coordinator had a dilemma
Peter F. Drucker - “The
R E L A T I O N S with
purpose of business is to

the awareness surrounding the donor center.

John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
create and keep a customer”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”

To our understanding, the organization lacks

blood platelets donors; specially in the
demographic of ages 18-35.

It was communicated to our team that an

abundance of this demographic is unaware
that there is a Roswell Donor Center, or simply
lack the initiative to donate because of the
proximity of the donor center.
 ROLE OF COMMUNICATIONS
From our analysis, The Top Tier Agency was able decide that
Roswell Donor Center doesn’t have enough spotlight of its
own. A large part of their demographic and potential
demographic are not aware that it exists because the
BRANDING
organization lacks anMextensitial
A R K E T I N G advertising and marketing

budget.
Peter F. Drucker For
- “The this reason,
purpose of business is to
John D.we decided
Rockefeller - “Don’t that the donor center
be afraid to give up the good
needs a stronger social
create and keep a customer”
media presence.  The use of social
to go for the great.”

media is cost effective and promotes information quickly on a

large-scale.

We advise a cohesive Twitter, Instagram and Facebook page

with proper branding. Millennials and Gen Z are the
demographic Roswell is currently interested in. These
 particular age groups grew up on social media and receive a
surplus of information from this particular medium. The use
of social media would be a great way to connect.  

We then thought an annual donor day would be a great thing

to implement. Events are essential in spreading information
while entertaining your target audience. There would be food
trucks that would sell their food.  Ten percent of their
proceeds can go to the Roswell Donor Center. Vendors can
also donate blood platelets when they initially sign up to
participate in the event.
 ROLE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Performances would also be available as an incentive for people

B
toR Acome.
N D I N G Performers M A R K EaT Ifollowing
have NG which will also bring
exposure. We
Peter F. Drucker - “Thedecided toJohnpitch to Buffalo
D. Rockefeller - “Don’t State, UB, Canisius and
purpose of business is to be afraid to give up the good
other
createperformers
and keep a customer”that will
to gobring that awareness to the age group
for the great.”

of 18-35. Tabling in these colleges as well will allow the Roswell

Donor Center to be seen. Providing notable information to these
students in close proximity will allow them to gain knowledge
about the organization.

Collaborating with “Movies in the Meadow” ran by the Parkside

Community Organization is a way to extend awareness to the
donor center while reaching their target. This collaboration was
pitched because year-round the temperature in Buffalo is in the
low 30’s. This event occurs in the summer months, and more
people are willing to go attend events due to weather.
 Demographics
Roswell Park Donor Center has a lack of blood platelet donors
aged 18-35. This is the age group that can donate the most
frequently, so it is important that Roswell is able to reach them.

BRANDING MARKETING

Peter F. Drucker - “The

purpose of business is to
create and keep a customer”
18-24
This segment of the Donor Center’s target audience is mainly
made up of college students, locally. Buffalo is perceptibly known
as a college town, with local schools including: Buffalo State,
University at Buffalo, Daemen, Canisius, ECC, D’Youville, Trocaire,
Villa Maria, and Medaille. This fact alone is a huge influencer in the
way that this public can be effectively reached. Much of the
incentives encouraged by survey participants were academically-
motivated. Additionally, most people this age did not know what
blood platelets were. Awareness surrounding the Donor Center’s
services is also lacking. This population seems most motivated by
information, hence the need to educate them on blood platelets
and Roswell’s services. Aside from awareness, time is a problem for
this population as well, with donations taking up to two hours
most people have availability Friday afternoons.
 Demographics

25-35
BRANDING MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
These participants’ locations spanned from the Buffalo and
Peter F. Drucker - “The
purpose of business is to
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
create and keep a customer”
Niagara area. This age group has a complex schedule,
be afraid to give up thethe
good
to go for the great.”
majority have to balance college and work, not to mention their
personal lives. The participants that I interviewed were aware of
Roswell Park as a whole but not specifically the donor center.
There was a consensus that the blood donation center is too far
out of reach, even for the individuals with access to reliable
transportation.

This portion of the study has suggested that Roswell Park Donor
center may benefit from extending hours during the start of the
weekend, on Friday. This group also confirmed that any form of
incentive may be enough to encourage an individual to donate.
This group of participants expressed high interests in Instagram
and Snapchat, suggesting a possible platform to reach this
demographic.
 COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

If Roswell’s target audience is not informed about what

the Donor Center is in need of, they are probably unlikely
to be inclined to donate. Most of the people surveyed
MARKETING
never donate blood in general. This points toward either a
lack of compassion or a lack of awareness amongst our
target audience. A lack of compassion would be the least
likely of the two, as the 18-24 group is one of the more
socially active generations. It is suggested that the Donor
Center:

Create a series of educational presentations to be brought

along to schools, offices or made available online
Have a designated field operative whose job it is to travel and
deliver educational seminars or presentations

These presentations could address any curiosities or health

concerns faced by potential donors.
COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
Regarding Roswell’s concern with extending the Donor
Center’s hours, it seems the most beneficial day to
extend hours would be Fridays.

Donors this age are also surveyed as being more inclined

to donate blood platelets as a group. It would be
beneficial for the Donor Center to market itself to college
organizations, sports teams and clubs. One respondent
mentioned that it would put forth a good image for their
organization, thus serving their reputation. This is an
opportunity for both Roswell and their organization to
generate social media content surrounding the group
donation.

When it came down to incentives, most participants are

students in search of academic benefits. Participants
were equally excited about:

loyalty/rewards programs for frequent donors

community service hours
extra credit
COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
Two of the three top incentives chosen are already
offered by the Donor Center; it would not be a
difficult effort to garner connections with local
professors for extra Mcredit opportunities for students
ARKETING
either.

Following these top benefits were raffle entries and

an event for new donors.
Roswell is urged to focus on respondents top
choices for outreach:
Fliers hung on campuses
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
E-mail

There should be a designated social media person to

handle the launch and maintenance of the
organization’s social media accounts; this could be a
salaried employee or an intern. Volunteers could be
contracted to hang fliers on their college campuses.
 COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
25-35
The main issue with donating blood for this group of participants was
the fact that Roswell Park Blood Donor Center is too far out of reach,
MARKETING
even for those with cars. The fact that the majority of this age group
utilizes Instagram and Snapchat leads to me to believe that Instagram
is the best way to reach this age group. Instagram is easy and free to
use, allowing individuals to share posts with any of their friends that
they deem satisfying or socially responsible.

Roswell Park Blood Donor Center can encourage people to share their
posts or advertisements to donate blood by insisting on following all
who do, by liking their pictures or both. Snapchat is a good platform
but it’s extremely expensive to advertise on their discover page. Friday
is the day that the majority of our participants had available so I
recommend extending hours on that day and possibly the weekend.
These days with extended hours should be the days that are being
advertised to the public the most.
 CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
We introduced the idea of tabling at Parkside
Community Association’s “Movies in the Meadows”
event. The summer event host hundred of people,
and could be aM Agood way to reach those
RKETING

interested and build the mail list.

During active hours, or tabling events at the

several colleges in the Erie County area, the Donor
Center can set up tables to give out information.
College students are the biggest market, and are
willing to participate in activities. The center will
come with a sign up sheet, novelty items,
pamphlets buttons, coupons etc to raise
awareness and encourage people to come.

This is also a perfect time to get the word out

about volunteer hours, and possible internships
for medical majors.
 CREATIVE SOLUTIONS

MARKETING

Flier layout that can be used in local colleges located in Buffalo.

Can be modified for other events and circumstances

 MEDIA SOLUTIONS
WEBSITE
A website can be seen as the forefront for a company. There are many
perks to having a website that is easy to navigate for the demographic
that it is targeted to. Some ways to make the Roswell Park Donor
Center websiteMeasier to navigate would include:
ARKETING
Putting the blood and platelet donation portion of the website
under its own tab rather than having it under a tab that includes
money donations as well. This will make the platelet donations and
Roswell Park Donor Center easy to find on the Roswell Park website.
The information about platelet donation could be more upfront. This
would include detailing about the  limited shelf-life of five days. Also
putting the “Roswell Park currently has an urgent need for type O-
blood” on the front page would help gear more people to want to
seek out how they can donate platelets and blood. This alert should
be on the front of the website so that it creates a call-to-action.
Having the online scheduling on the top of the Roswell Park Donor
Center page, rather than on the bottom, would help more
individuals see that they can electronically sign up for donations
since it is on the page as soon as they open it.
Adding information about the perks of being a donor on the website
donor center page would show individuals the commodities they
would be able to receive in reciprocation of being a platelet donor
for Roswell Park.
 SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media will be the main source of media utilized in this campaign
since it is both cost efficient and is the most utilized form of media for the
target audience. This form of media will let the organization accurately
reach out to their key public accurately, while also sharing news and
updates about the organization in a timely and effective manner. The
three main forms of media that will be most effective in reaching to the
MARKETING
key public for awareness of opportunities and promotions that Roswell
Park Donor Center offers are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These
forms of media will entail a timely and consistent schedule with postings
that are targeted to debut at peak viewing times, along with the
utilization of interactive posts to create more engagement within each
medium.

WEEKLY CONTENT CALENDAR

 FACEBOOK
Facebook will be the main focus for the campaign since it is one of the top
forms of social media for both the 18 to 24 year old and the 25 to 35 year old
demographics. The main focus for this medium will be to increase both the
amount of engagement and reach that the page has.  Firstly their will be
posts two  times a week rather than one. These posts will be once in the
beginning of the week and once at the end of the week so that the page
MARKETING
can stay relevant while also getting a larger following in order to promote
the donation center.  The posts will be during during the “prime time” hours
to have a larger reach. These hours will include Wednesdays between 10a.m.
and 2p.m. and Fridays between 9a.m. and 11a.m.

ENGAGEMENT
Engagement is a very vital part of a social media platform, because
it is an indication of how many followers are actually paying
attention to the page’s posts rather than passively scrolling past
them.To increase engagement, posts should include open-ended
questions that will kick-start a conversation and relationship
between the donor center and its followers. Another way we will
create more interaction  and engagement with the posts is to
create visually enticing short videos for posts. The reasoning for this
is that videos usually get more engagement and views than a
simple post. The videos should will be visually enticing since 85% of
Facebook videos are watched without sound. Also the videos will
be short in length and to the point since the 18 to 35 year old
demographic has an attention span 75% shorter than any other
demographic.
MESSENGER ADS
A final recommendation for Facebook would be to incorporate
Messenger ads in any advertisement that Roswell Park or the donor
center may already have in place on Facebook. This Messenger ad will
be a tab that says “learn more” in the right hand corner of the
advertisement that Roswell Park already has circulating on Facebook.
This tab will bring an individual straight to a Messenger inbox with the
Roswell Park Donor Center. When the individual clicks on the “learn
more” tab, a pop-up messageM A Rin
K Ethe
T I Nmessenger
G chat box will come up
immediately from Roswell Park  Donor Center’s page giving the
individual information on blood and platelet donation. This would will
include both a link to the page for scheduling an appointment and the
center’s phone number.
TWITTER
Our team proposes to utilize twitter for information on the donation
center and links to other social media page postings and the website
for more information about the donor center. We will first create a
Twitter account that easily detectable when searching or it. Since the
target demographic has a shorter attention span, it is important to
have a page that is easily found. Once an account is made, posts will be
sent out 1-2 times a day. There are a copious amount of tweets that are
posted daily, so it is good to
MAstay
R K Erelevant
T I N G and on individual’s timelines.
Posts will include fun facts about donation or the donor center, such as
extended hours and information about events; links to stories and
other social media postings about Roswell Park and the donor center;
and posts that comment on topics that are currently trending and
pertain to the donor center’s mission. Hashtags should be utilized
whenever applicable so that the page is visited more, which would
help grow the following. This content should be posted during peak
hours for 18 to 35 year olds on Twitter to reach the optimal amount of
engagement. This will include posts between the hours of 11a.m. and
3p.m., with the busiest hour being 1p.m.
TWEET EXAMPLE
 INSTAGRAM
Instagram is a valuable asset for an organization to utilize to
give followers a look into what the organization has going on
such as events, patient success stories, donor recognition and
appreciation, and visuals pertaining to the center. For this
campaign, content will be posted every other day to stay
MARKETING
relevant. Posts will be published during the peak hours for
hours for 18 to 35 year olds, which is weekdays between 2p.m.
and 4p.m. The post’s content will include success stories with
images of the individuals; stories about certain donors; images
and videos from events; fliers for events and pictures that have
quotes or images pertaining to the donor center on them.
Hashtags will be utilized to create more visitation to the page
and a larger reach for the posts. Hashtags that are personalized
specifically to the donor center  will interchangeably used with
hashtags that are trending and commonly used that can
pertain to the post. Another viable tool on instagram that
would be good to use is the “stories” feature. This can be used
to post small videos, updates about the center, reminders
about donor center hours, live videos of events, and notification
that there is a new posting, such as putting a “new post!” icon
with the post linked behind the icon in the story.
INSTAGRAM POST EXAMPLE

MARKETING
 SOCIAL MEDIA INTERNS

Hiring an unpaid social media intern would be a large help in handling

the drastic change in the creating, planning, and launching of postings
on all forms of media posted above. An extra member on board will
help keep engagement with the donor center’s following while also
keeping up with the regimented weekly content calendar.This will
combat any struggles the organization may have in keeping up with
M A R K E T Ibeneficial
postings while also being mutually NG for the intern. An intern
will be able to gain college credits while also acquiring knowledge on
digital marketing and social media management.

Places to inquire about interns:

SUNY Buffalo State College Department of Communication

SUNY University at Buffalo Department of Communication
Canisius College Communication Studies
SUNY Erie Community College Communication and Media Arts
Villa Maria College Digital Media and Communication program
 RESULTS
Once the campaign reaches its 6th month mark,
we will compare before and after data to analyze
MARKETING
if the increase of awareness worked.

Increase/decrease in platelet donations

Increase in social media followers
Increase in The Donor Center direct
website clicks
Amount of engagement on social media:
comments, retweets, shares, likes