This study examines whether AI-generated posters are associated with higher reach-based engagement than human-created posters in organic Instagram blood donation campaigns, and which message, copy and image characteristics accompany these differences.
The analysis focuses on 196 posters (from 1,286 initial organic posts) from the Instituto de Hemodonación y Hemoterapia (IHH) Instagram profile (January 2023 to February 2024), of which 27% were AI-generated posters. Engagement rates were calculated using reach-based metrics (likes, comments and saves), a more accurate measure than the follower-based rate commonly used in prior research. Content analysis was conducted to code copy and image characteristics, while perceptual salience was assessed computationally using Python and OpenCV.
AI-generated posters achieved higher reach-based engagement and showed greater use of solidarity appeals, references to the need for blood, emotional copy, emotionally valenced images and donor-centred symbolic cues. These findings indicate that the higher engagement associated with AI-generated posters was accompanied by a distinctive content-design pattern, combining prosocial message framing with emotional and visual execution cues.
Non-profit-making organisations with limited resources may use generative AI tools to support the development of emotionally resonant, visually coherent and prosocially aligned content. Human oversight remains essential to preserve authenticity and trust.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical studies examining a real-world transition to AI-generated poster design in non-profit Instagram campaigns, combining content analysis with computational salience measures to document the message and visual-design pattern associated with AI-generated posters in a public-health context.
