A fact, a perception, and a word association combined to create the concept for Mercy Flight's 20th anniversary.

The fact was that Mercy Flight had flown more than 3,000 critically ill or injured patients from outlying areas of Western New York to emergency medical centers in Buffalo since 1981.

The perception was that "sacred places" are often born from tragic or dramatic events. Think of roadside shrines that mark the scene of fatal accidents or battlefield memorials.

The word association happened late into a 2-hour brainstorming session. Someone said something like, "Hey, remember that old saying 'Murphy was here'?"; "Murphy" morphed into "Mercy"; and suddenly, the planets aligned: place roadside signs with the headline "Mercy Was Here" at each of the 3,000 places where Mercy Flight landed since 1981. Add a subhead that read "Here for you. Thanks to you," to underscore the public support needed to keep Mercy Flight fiscally healthy. Finish it off by acknowledging Mercy Flight's emergency services partners with a sticker listing each by name.

A campaign was born.

This solution was simple, dramatic, and as you'll read on the Results page, measurably effective. No one driving the roads of Western New York during the summer of 2001 could fail to see at least one of our signs or billboards. And when they saw another, and another, and another, and another, our goal of communicating the importance of Mercy Flight's life-saving mission was unforgettably driven home.

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