BURNABY – The hard-hitting BC paramedics’ advertising campaign is garnering accolades and support from across BC and around the world. By the time you read this the social media and Google views will likely have topped five million.
The Imagine a World Without Paramedics print, radio, tv and online ads have been running for two weeks. In that time, the Ambulance Paramedics of BC – CUPE Local 873 reports the following impressive stats just for social media coverage:
- Social Media & Google views: 4,713,541
- YouTube video views: 88,120
- Website views: 51,152
- Website visitors: 25,945
- Social Media clicks / likes / retweets: 59,191
The campaign material can be viewed online at http://www.worldwithoutparamedics.ca/
Replies and comments have also been piling up. CUPE 873’s Cameron Eby pulled together a sampling received so far:
From grateful British Columbians:
“When my husband was very sick with cancer, I called you more than once for help when he had passed out. You were very supportive and I really appreciated all the professionalism and caring that you showed. I seriously cannot understand my world where I could not call 911 and get your support.”
“I cannot imagine where we would be without you paramedics, I can’t count how many times you’ve been called to our home to help my husband after bad fall, heart attack symptoms, he’s had sever M.S. and Heart problems for many years, we kept him at home as long as we could and you always responded very quickly to answer my calls for help you are all ANGELS, not enough room to tell you how wonderful you all are, if you are doing any local fundraising or need any help from the community in your drive for awareness, all I’ve ever heard is outstanding praise for your service, many of us wouldn’t be here without you, Thank You is not enough.”
“I just want to THANK YOU for all you do for us! You are all amazing, dedicated, loving people.”
From emergency responders around the world:
“I just started my 3 year degree in Paramedicine down here in Australia and have my first set of clinical placements over Christmas/New Year’s. Even down here the politicians will take a $100,000 pay rise and cut the Paramedics salary further to substitute it. I think that Paramedics are obviously one of the most important professions (so to speak) worldwide and the fact that the government has shown little appreciation towards them angers me greatly. I hope that you achieve what you are after out of this campaign, because you all deserve it without hesitation.”
“I watched the videos and have but one comment …. EXCELLENT depiction of what we do. Members of the public who have had a loved one cared by EMS or who were a patient themselves, can appreciate what we do. Sadly, a very large number of people simply have no clue. We are still the “ambulance drivers” who show up!”
“Thank you for your efforts to make the public more aware of what EMS does!”
“This campaign is excellent. I have been a paramedic in Buffalo, New York for 20 years, and I would like to do something very close to this in the United States.”
“I am an EMT from Alabama and I absolutely LOVE the campaign ads and commercials. I wish we had something like that over here. “
“I don’t think the public realizes what an impact our roles play in their lives when a disaster or accident happens. Just Love what you’ve done! One more question, the Ad you have, will you be selling any T shirts? If so, I would love to have one!”
“I’m a Paramedic Supervisor here in Massachusetts in the US, formally a medic in Ireland. I just want to say this is a fantastic campaign. EMS is long known as the forgotten service, and enlightening the public on our position and what we do is a fantastic idea.”
“I’m a paramedic in Ontario, just wanting to say kudos and thanks for doing a great job at making short sweet visually accurate and thought provoking videos. I have gladly shared the videos and website link to my paramedic coworkers, and all paramedic online groups and unions I belong to.”
“I am a Paramedic of 15 years and seriously this touches my Soul! Thank you for what you are doing!”
CUPE 873 also reports lots of requests for information on how paramedics in other provinces and countries can launch similar campaigns.
