NZME Supports New Zealand Blood Service

NZME Supports New Zealand Blood Service

16 August 2016 – Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that many of New Zealand Media and Entertainment’s (NZME) publishing and radio brands dropped a couple of vowels from the mastheads on their digital sites and newspapers yesterday.

This was not an oversight – in fact, it was quite the opposite. NZME is supporting #MissingType, a New Zealand Blood Service campaign to get 10,000 new donors signed up. The service is particularly keen for people with A and O blood types, which are in short supply, to come forward. So, NZME dropped As and Os from mastheads and logos.

Practising what they preach, NZME is today holding a ‘What’s Your Type’ event in their central Auckland office. Staff can have a quick pinprick test to find out their blood type and, if appropriate, sign up to donate. Similar events will be held at other NZME offices around New Zealand.

The New Zealand Herald is spearheading coverage of stories supporting the campaign in a series titled Bloody Good Types. Journalists have interviewed a number of people whose lives have been saved by blood donors, as well as donors themselves. One donor has been giving blood every six to nine months since she was 20 years old – she is now 45, and still donating.

Herald planning editor Chris Reed says the campaign is raising eyebrows in the right way. “Having these omissions disguised as errors in our recognisable mastheads has certainly caught people’s attention. We can easily add A and O back into our logos but for NZ Blood, it isn’t so easy – they need New Zealanders to donate.”

Approximately 42,000 patients are treated with blood or blood products in New Zealand each year. The red cell component of blood only lasts 35 days, meaning NZ Blood require around 3000 donations every week to meet hospital needs.

The Blood Service’s national manager of marketing and communications, Asuka Burge, says: “It is an ambitious goal but we are seeking 10,000 first-time blood donors to join our life-saving team. We have been overwhelmed with the level of support we have received from NZME and other leading New Zealand organisations to help us achieve this target. Their commitment to #MissingType is helping us spread the message across New Zealand. New and young donors are the key to safeguarding New Zealand’s future blood supply and we want this campaign to encourage more people to find out if they are eligible and register to become a blood donor.”

NZME is in good company, with other New Zealand companies such as Wellington Airport and The Starship Foundation also taking part in the campaign.

For more information on where you can donate, visit www.nzblood.co.nz.

ENDS

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