PR Strategic Campaign Plan

Company Name: NJ Sharing Network with Caring Communications

Group Members: Christy Phillips, Danielle Raabe, IDonia Pope, Jillian Ma, Jiwon Seo, Tom
Leitner, Kautuki Jariwala

PR Campaign Title: #Less Than 22

Situation Analysis
Organizational Background

The non-profit organ procurement industry has been responsible for evaluating and procuring
deceased-donor organs for organ transplantation. Recent technological advances in medicine
have proven transformative in countless life-saving procedures, an effort that can be furthered
with a larger organ donor pool. It has become societys duty to become organ donors so that
these transplantations can potentially save someones last breath. However, there are
difficulties in convincing people to be registered because they are reluctant for a number of
reasons. Some limitations are the lack of education, the lack of understanding of these
situations, or beliefs of a violation of privacy.

The NJ Sharing Network, in New Providence, N.J, is the New Jerseys organ and tissue
procurement industry. It is a non-profit, federally designated organization. They are committed
to saving and improving lives through tissue and organ donation and transportation. The
Sharing Network aims to educate the public in order to increase awareness of and participation
in the organ donation process. Having organ and tissues donors helps the process in selecting
the right transplantation for another life. The organization provides group meetings, high school
training workshops, and other volunteer events throughout the year.

NJ Sharing Network was established in June of 1987, when three New Jersey organ
procurement organizations merged. Currently, they are responsible for the recovery of organs
and tissue for the over 4,000 New Jersey residents awaiting transplantation. In addition, they
are part of the national recovery system, which is in place for the more than 120,000 people on
waiting lists. The NJ Sharing Network works with 14 counties in New Jersey, as well as with
hospitals throughout the state. It also operates as transport laboratory, where histocompatibility
testing of organs and tissues are performed for organ and tissue donors and recipients.
Another key aspect of the NJ Sharing Network includes their Foundation. Contributions made to
the foundation have helped fund projects and programs within innovative transplant research,
family support, public awareness and education.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

Operates a Low community Engage people in A drop in donor

transport lab for awareness of giving back to rates
organ and tissue health care needs society; unite
testing of specific community
populations

Strong Not common for The recovery of Inadequate

Partnerships with people to think organs and tissue Financial or human
hospitals and other about (until it for the over 4,000 resources to
organizations affects them) New Jersey complete certain
throughout the goals
residents awaiting
state
transplantation

Save lives by Lack staff members HS Students are Decreasing interest

transplantation of for HS program the best audience in becoming an
organs and tissues education teams because they get organ donor
from donors their licenses and amongst high
can register legally. school students

PR Issue Statement

As an organization that focuses on the recovery and transplantation of organs and tissues,
outreach and education within the community is a crucial task. With so many residents of NJ,
reaching each targeted audience can be difficult. NJ Sharing Network expressed that one of
their biggest challenges being that a large portion of individuals do not think about organ and
tissue donation until it affects them personally. Therefore an issue they face, is starting a
conversation about organ and tissue donation before there is a personal connection. The NJ
Sharing Network sees the NJ Hero Act as an opportunity to start a conversation and educate
high school students about tissue and organ donation. They would like to strive have a stronger
presence within the schools, as well as build lasting relationships with various high schools
throughout New Jersey in order to start a conversation about organ and tissue donation, as well
as increase the number of residents, specifically high school aged students, signed up to be
organ and tissue donors.
Public Relations action is necessary because the issues the NJ Sharing Network faces pertain
to organizational awareness and message strategy. Currently, NJ Sharing Network does not
feel as though their key messages are hitting their target audience of high school students.
Public Relations professionals can help create a campaign that builds public awareness about
organ donation within high schools. Through our PR Program, our agency will help to refine the
NJ Sharing Networks key messages as well as help their Public Education and Foundation
Team reach more students, parents, and high school administrators/staff.

Identification and Analysis of Key Publics (3)

Key Public 1 (Students)

This public is the primary one because the students are ultimately responsible to make a choice
when getting their drivers test. We aim to influence juniors and seniors in high school, and
therefore the publics are between the ages of 15 and 18. This public is well versed with social
media and uses it regularly to interact with peers as well as creating a self-brand. Although not
as high as middle school students, this public is subjected to and affected by peer influence.
Many of their sexual, drug use, and academic decisions are based on their friends of the same
age. The key public looks for approval and imitates behavior of the people they are most
surrounded by. This is beneficial for us because if we are able to influence at least a few highly
visible students, then we can rely on a certain level of snowball effect.

Many of them are not aware of the organization at all and thus they are yet to build a
relationship with the organization. New Jersey law requires all students to be educated about
organ donation in some manner. This usually takes place in their drivers education class where
students are made aware that they have a choice to register as a donor. Organ and tissue
donation requires a level of commitment and therefore, the students have a need to fulfill their
self-satisfying criteria. The public values their image in front of the peers and portraying a
positive self image for college applications. With the changing political climate, taking a stand on
an issue or overtly showing that they are involved in an activity also motivates the public. They
must be moved to care about an issue for them to willing to align their personal brand with it.

Key Public 2 (Parents/Guardians)

The parents that we are targeting are mainly of the juniors and seniors as this is the age where
the students are getting their permits or licenses. The parents are most likely early 40s to 60s
and could be married, divorced, or single. Parents always want what is best for their children
and should always be planning for the future. Parents also have a great deal of influence on
their children. It will be beneficial to influence the parents first as they will be able in talk to their
children about the benefits of signing up as an organ donor. If the parents feel like signing up to
be an organ donor is beneficial for their children more likely than not their children will sign up to
be an organ donor on their license. Parents should be educated on the merits of having a larger
organ donor pool and how it can help in case their own children are ever in need of a transplant
themselves.

Parents might be more familiar with the organization if they themselves are registered as organ
donors, however, they might not realize all the work the organization does within the community.
If they feel as though the Sharing Network is a trustworthy organization they will be more likely
to get their children involved and further educated on becoming an organ donor.

Key Public 3 ( High School Administration/ Administrators)

We are targeting Drivers-Ed teachers, Student Counselors, Phys-Ed teachers, and Health
teachers since these administrators leave important impressions on students on a day-to-day
basis. Since many students are uninformed of the benefits of organ donation, it would be best
for these administrators to help inform them about our client and the benefits. This will also give
the entire staff of the High School a chance to learn about our client and organ donation. Since
teachers and administrators are seen as role models, students will be more inclined to become
organ donors with the help of our client.

PR Goal (1) and Key Objectives (3)

PR Goal

The PR goal for the NJ Sharing Network will be to foster connections between the organization
and their target audience of high school students, mainly within the 14 counties that the NJ
Sharing Network operates within. The goals also include improvements to NJ Sharing
Network's current high school outreach programs, in hopes to increase the number of students
who are registered to be organ and tissue donors. Campaign goals entail a more interactive way
for The NJ Sharing Network to reach out to not only high school aged children, but to parents,
staff and other members of the community.

Key Objectives

1. Public 1(Students) Objective: To have the Public Education and Foundation Team
present at 20 new high schools about organ and tissue donation within the 2017-2018
School Year

2. Public 2 (Parents) Objective: To connect with 40 or more parents and guardians at Back
School Nights and other outreach events, measured by amount of email addresses
added to NJ Sharing Network email contact list and responses to the Post Presentation
Feedback Survey within the 2017-2018 School Year

3. Public 3 (High School Administration/ Administrators) Objective: To obtain 50 new

relationships with additional high schools measured by future presentations and visits
booked within the 2017-2018 School Year.
Key Messages
a) Public 1- Students
i) Key Message- Students should sign up to be organ donors because
doing so can save lives
(1) Proofpoint- Students are now turning the legal age to make adult
decisions, and nothing can be more mature than signing up to be
an organ donor.
(2) Proofpoint- Understanding the importance of organ donation
shows you have learned important life lessons and donor
appreciation that students can take with them for the rest of their
lives.

b) Public 2- Parents/Guardians
i) Key Message Parents and/or Guardians should be supportive forces in
their childs decision to become an organ donor.
(1) Proofpoint- Their son or daughter may not fully understand what
it means to be an organ donor and support from the parents can
prove beneficial to the cause.
(2) Proofpoint- By combining efforts with the school faculty, parents
will be able to show their child the importance of being a hero in
the community.

c) Public 3- High School Administration/ Administrators

i) Key Message The school faculty needs to do a better job of teaching
students the importance of making a difference and being an organ
donor
(1) Proofpoint- Doing so will make them a leader among other high
schools in the state in organ donor education.
(2) Proofpoint- Better organ donor education creates students that
are more socially aware and passionate about the cause, a
passion that they will take with them through life.

PR Strategies and Tactics

1. Strategy: First, the campaign will aim to influence high school students parents and
faculty towards encouraging their teenagers to register as organ donors while receiving
their vehicle licenses. As these two demographics tend to be the strongest influencers
within high school students lives, it is hoped that building a collaboration with them will
empower the message with greater clout towards the intended target demographic.
 a. Tactics: To accomplish this, parent-teacher meetings will be held that will allow
the NJ Sharing Network to directly endorse the value of teen organ donor
registration. As such a prospect may prove to be a difficult sell to parents in
particular, these meetings must emphasize both the communal and individual
benefits that a wider donor pool can provide, particularly in cases wherein their
own children would ever need an organ donation of their own. These
parent-teacher gatherings would also provide ideal opportunities to distribute
informational materials (e.g. brochures, fliers) for supporters whod like to
collaborate in contributing to the campaigns visibility in further classrooms and
households. The nights will also offer parents the opportunity to sign up and
receive the campaign newsletters, both helping them to stay better informed
about the cause and giving the campaign a quantifiable metric in measuring local
interest towards the cause. In order to raise exposure for the back-to-school
nights, the campaign plans to send news releases that will highlight the nights as
opportunities for both the school districts and the local communities to learn more
about the cause of organ donor registration. These news releases would be
pitched to local community-oriented media outlets and newspapers. Similarly,
pitch letters will be distributed to local press that will offer them the opportunity to
cover the nights for their own outlets.
2. Strategy: The campaign will also directly appeal to high school students through
promotional events and materials. Here, the campaign will set out to directly encourage
teenagers to register as organ donors.
a. Tactics: Among these approaches would include a series of social responsibility
ads featuring testimonies from organ donor patients. These ads would be shown
during in-school events and would also be made available through online social
media outlets. As a part of the campaign, the campaign will also run a Facebook
page where students will be able to watch such ads, read testimonials from both
organ donors and transplant receivers, and stay up-to-date on the campaigns
event plans in their local school districts. In addition, back-to-school nights would
be held that would seek to educate students on the social and ethical merits of
organ donation. Given the support of school administrations, the campaign would
also set out to develop student-run donation life clubs that would encourage more
students to get involved.
 References

Our Mission- NJ Sharing Network . (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2017, from

https://www.njsharingnetwork.org/