Technology that curates social-media photos based on a hashtag and allows people to print them isn’t new, but recently, two New York-based organizations partnered to put a new spin on the trend for a good cause.
The Andrew McDonough B Positive Foundation—a nonprofit that supports families of children with cancer, whose slogan is “Kids Helping Kids Fight Cancer”—recently hosted an outing at Citi Field during a Mets baseball game to bring together young cancer patients and their supporters. To create a unique memory for attendees, the organization partnered with experiential marketing company M-ND (which is pronounced as “mind") to design interactive, social-media curating- and photo-printing backpacks.
During the August 8 home game against the Texas Rangers, attendees who posted photos on social media using the hashtag #BePosNYC could find the images on the backpack screens, and then print photo stickers featuring the Mets blue and orange colors and the B Positive logo. The event and the technology both were meant to raise awareness for the B Positive Foundation—attendees who were not part of the event also were welcome to print their own photos.
While there are no specific plans to bring the backpacks to another event, M-ND has expressed interest in working with the foundation again. "We are discussing future opportunities to work with B Positive again," said Pete Wells, C.O.O. of M-ND. "The next time we'd like to introduce a donation-by-text (SMS) function so we can also help raise funds for the charity."