Up to 130 million people worldwide suffer from devastating cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases. The treatment journey for CVRM patients can be incredibly complicated, especially since one disease is often connected to another, meaning crucial symptoms can easily be masked or overlooked. Understanding how diseases intersect can save lives.
AstraZeneca asked us to:
- Show healthcare professionals how some of the biggest diseases interconnect and help them understand the importance of looking at their patients more holistically
- Position them as an important and reliable partner for HCP’s with their extensive knowledge and strong pipeline of medicines for tackling CVRM diseases
- Create something that could be easily translated, and used internationally
To help doctors predict every possible twist and turn, we took creative inspiration from something labeled ‘too radical’ when it was first introduced. Something which has since been adopted worldwide, helping people navigate new, interconnected landscapes since 1933… Harry Beck’s original tube map.
Patient Pathways is the world’s first visualized disease map to show the connections between four separate diseases.
Thinking about disease paths as actual journeys enabled us to show exactly how everything was connected, in a way that everybody could understand. The highly sharable and workable resource can be translated into any language and understood across cultures, revolutionizing AstraZeneca’s information sharing.
The map launched with four compelling patient films, giving examples of the human experience and connecting doctors emotionally to the people behind the diseases.
STRATEGY AND EXECUTION
The Map
This is the first time that something like this had ever been attempted and the process was suitably involved. Plotting the map required huge dedication and collaboration between corporate affairs and global market access teams, working alongside art directors, designers, copywriters and medical writers to create a comprehensive and accurate but digestible visual. First, each disease was given its own line and then each stage of progression had to be plotted, against every possible intersection with the other diseases, and the lines accurately connected.
The Films
The beautifully shot and emotionally resonant suite of films sought to capture the turmoil each patient can be thrown into by a CVRM diagnosis., giving Health Care Professionals an important insight into their struggles and giving them a compelling reason to take up the map and improve their understanding. The scripts for our films were based on actual comments from dozens of real patients, ensuring that our patient stories were accurate and ‘real’.
The Campaign
A full communications strategy and campaign supported the release of the patient pathway map and films.
- Health care practitioners were targeted online and at medical congresses and industry events
- The campaign was deployed across AstraZeneca’s worldwide network, along with explanatory materials on how to use
- Targeted digital promotions led Healthcare Professionals to the videos on LinkedIn and YouTube
- Patient films were featured at AstraZeneca booths and media events
- The campaign was promoted on AstraZeneca’s website through a LabTalk article penned by AstraZeneca’s Global Medical Affairs VP
- A social media editorial calendar was created to ensure a regular drumbeat of communications
OUTCOME
- The Patient Pathways map has revolutionized AstraZeneca’s information sharing.
- 89 percent of health care professionals want to use the map in their practice
- 59 percent of people now feel more positive about AstraZeneca
- The patient films achieved 1 million video views in just three months
- The campaign had a 41 percent view rate on LinkedIn
- Cecilia Taieb Walch, Head of Global Corporate Affairs, AstraZeneca said of the campaign: ‘What started as an HCP campaign became so much more, this has been a game-changer’