The Athos agency, based in Bolivia, launched the country’s first blood donor bank, in partnership with Nacional Seguros, on World Blood Donor Day, which is celebrated in Brazil on November 25th. The campaign aims to help the population with a public utility service.
In Bolivia, the practice of searching for blood donors through social media is already common, albeit informally. Therefore, the action appears in the same format, with the aim of shortening the path between the donor and the recipient.
The created model consists of an Instagram profile, and the moment the person follows the account, they become a voluntary donor. These volunteers comment on their blood type in the corresponding publication, facilitating the search for those in need. The action has been giving good returns to the population and was well received by the media and influencers, bringing even more visibility to the page.
According to Fernando Fernandes, the agency’s CCO, the blood bank did not officially exist due to lack of initiatives, prejudice and even political reasons. It’s a matter of social behavior, and people are very radical. The political issue means that things do not move in the same direction. And precisely to avoid becoming a centralized blood bank, the agency created this donation format. Another issue to be considered is that blood is sold in the country.
The advertising market in Bolivia is still small, but it is growing a lot and there is a lot of desire to do something. On the other hand, many brands still do not want to commit to causes, because society is very traditional. Compromising is a risk for brands.
“Bolivia is a small country with global brands, but they still don’t understand the role of advertising. We who came from abroad, we came from the future and arriving here, we lived the past” said Fernandes, CCO at Athos.
Still this year, despite the country’s conservative view, Athos promoted an action in the Bolivian Gay Parade. The agency addressed the issue of violence that the LGBTQIA+ community suffers. The campaign was created by the agency’s own people, with the message ‘I dare to be me’. Some brands have also committed to the cause, such as Sky Vodka.
“We see the whole world helping causes, and here as if it were something fatal. I think there is a majority rule here, the ‘cancellation culture’, where everyone follows what the majority follows. Brands avoid defending minorities so as not to lose the loyalty of the majority”, highlighted Pablo Jove, co-COO of the agency.
Despite the difficulties of carrying out advertising and raising campaigns, the agency currently has a team of 20 people and accounts with the main banks and retailers in the country, as well as brands such as: Arcor, Faber Castell and National Insurance.
Athos also comes from a sequence of awards. In June, it was the only agencyboliviain El Sol. Recently, it was the most awarded agency in the country at FIAP, with three awards in Innovation and Formats (Health and Social Networks), with the campaign ‘El Banco de Donantes de Bolivia’ for Nacional Seguros. In addition to recognition at other festivals, such as El Ojo.
For us, carrying out these actions is something natural. We feel that no one does anything, so we have to do it, almost an obligation. The solutions are in doing things and not giving things. Less saying and more doing. Those who come from abroad understand the problems more easily, so for those who are from here, if there is no problem, there is no solution”, explained Jove.
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