Breakaway PR began working with We Are Blood (WRB) in 2018 when they were seeking a PR firm to raise awareness of the blood bank’s vital public health role across its 10-county service area. WRB is the sole provider of blood to 50 hospitals in this region, including both the Ascension Seton and St. David’s hospitals systems.

The ultimate goal has always been to bring in more blood donors on a regular basis. The goal has no end date in this fast-growing region. Consistent blood donations will always be needed to support emergency and planned medical procedures. 

Although Breakaway must often lean into local media to communicate times of urgent need, we also share news items and pitch feature story ideas along with ideas for community partnerships. PR tactics include sharing monthly donor promotions, pitching specialized story angles to local media and alerting media when supply is dangerously low. We also incorporate influencer relations with select Austin area social media influencers who can share their donor experience and encourage followers to do the same. This is especially helpful in communicating with a younger donor base.

Highlights over the years include securing and promoting a city proclamation, live TV interviews from the annual Battle of the Badges contest every July, regular radio/podcast interviews with “Inside Austin” which runs on five local radio stations, a three-page feature story in the Austin American Statesman, and a profile on the center’s female CEO in Austin Woman. As of July  2023, Breakaway has secured more than 1000 hits across a range of media and social media outlets totaling more than 33.3 million page views – not including readers and listeners across television, radio, podcast and print media.