Irish Blood Transfusion Service Turns Ordinary Envelope into Universal Thank You

Working with the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, TBWA\Ireland has delivered a heartfelt thank you to 18,733 O negative donors across the country.

O negative is the blood type that can be transfused to patients of any group, meaning it accounts for 16% of demand in Irish hospitals. O negative donors are vital to the IBTS and are frequently called upon to give blood. And while donors don’t do it to be thanked, the IBTS wanted to take a moment to recognise their continued generosity.

It’s not every day a thank you letter arrives in the post, so TBWA\Ireland set out to make this one memorable. What appears to be an ordinary envelope transforms into something unexpected when opened, showing the recipient the tangible impact of their donation. Inside, a thank you message in which every word contains the letter ‘O’ highlights the universal importance of O negative blood.

TBWA\Ireland creatives Kevin Flynn and Eva Dolan commented, “The work IBTS does every day is remarkable, supported by the generosity of O negative donors. It was exciting for us to receive this Direct Mail brief, a medium so rarely used nowadays but one we could harness to create a tactile, visual thank you, and a genuine one too. We pushed to keep it as a standard, everyday envelope with a normal window, rather than a bespoke piece. We did this to create a feeling of something ordinary turning into something a little bit magic.”

Josh Behan, strategist at TBWA, added, “All donors are incredibly important to the IBTS, but the universality of O negative blood means these donors are called upon more often. And being contacted frequently by SMS or phone call can sometimes feel a bit transactional. We knew that with such a personal medium as direct mail, we had an opportunity to counter that feeling and deliver a truly heartfelt, well-deserved thank you.”

IBTS head of marketing and donor services Stephen Cousins said, “Every donation counts, and that is particularly true of O negative donations. We expect to issue over 20,000 O neg units this year compared to only just over 17,000 four years ago. Every O neg donor knows the consistent demands we ask of them because they are a rare group whose blood is needed for all donors. This creative was a striking and touching way of saying thank you to our donors for saving so many lives, but also encouraging O neg donors to stay with us into the future, and encourage their family members who are more likely to be O neg compared to the normal population.”