Marketing Options of the National Blood Service

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Communications - Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, grade: 80, University of Hertfordshire (Business School), course: MA Marketing, language: English, abstract: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority, dedicated to saving and improving lives through the wide range of services we provide to the NHS. We are responsible for ensuring the safe and secure supply of blood, stem cells, tissues, solid organs and plasma products to the NHS; and for promoting and raising awareness of donation. Unlike the private sector, marketing within non-profit making organisations such as the National Blood Service show a need to divide their marketing activities to a wide range of publics as their revenue streams are not always derived from conventional sales income. (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006. P.1096) It is with this in mind that this report will examine how marketing can assist the National Blood Service in achieving its goals and also the way in which expectations of shareholders are met. The methodology used in this report will compare the formalised strategic aims as outlined by the National Blood Service themselves with the marketing activities they employ. As well as looking at the current stakeholders of the National Blood Service and what their expectations might be and discussing if their needs are currently being met by the organisation. This report will explain that the National Blood Service uses marketing to good effect to achieve or move to achieving its strategic goals. This report will also show that the National Blood Service balances well the needs of its two main stakeholders, donors and primary care trusts (hospitals), when their demands are relatively unconnected. The limitations of this report are reflected in a lack of primary research regarding the two main stakeholders and the measurement of their expectations as well as the lack of a primary longitudinal study into the successes of individual marketing campaigns and public relations initiatives.