What giving blood in Sweden can teach us about great mobile experiences
I give blood platelets 3-4 times a year. I started when one of my employees asked our team if anyone would be willing to help his wife by donating blood platelets. After I spent the 2+ hours in the chair, squeezing the ball while the platelets were pulled from my body, I was handed a sticker that said: You saved two lives today.
Boom. I was hooked.
Ever since then, when I get the call, I go. I don’t want to. I think, “Do I really have time to drive to the hospital and sit there uncomfortably for hours?” And it IS uncomfortable. It’s not like you can sleep. You have to hold a rubber ball and squeeze it every 15 seconds. For TWO hours. Ever try to use your phone with just one hand? Not easy.*
And then I remember that sticker and think, how could I be that selfish?
So when I read about what Sweden is doing with blood donations it made perfect sense. After you give blood in Sweden, you get a text message whenever your blood saves someone’s life.
Marketers are constantly struggling with how to be relevant on mobile. I guarantee you when people get the text saying their blood just saved a life, it makes their day. And the next time they get the call, they step right up and give more blood. A lot can be learned from such a simple execution.
* That just might be the worlds greatest example of a 1st world problem.
Agree, I think we, marketers, over complicate everything. Behavioral Economics teaches us that sometimes it’s the small interventions that have the biggest impact.
Bingo, great point. If I could rephrase, “Don’t get lost in all the possibilities that technology provides, think and act like a human being instead.”