2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

It’s not easy getting the attention of Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) especially keeping in mind their busy schedules. By creating a unique opportunity at the Expo 2020 Novartis booth, we were able to connect with them and showcase our work in an impactful and relevant manner.

Describe any restrictions or regulations regarding Healthcare/RX/Pharma communications in your country/region including:

All patient communications need to be approved by the Ministry of Health and Prevention as per their guidelines. All medical claims are to be referenced and scientifically proven. No communication of any medical product directly to patients is allowed, only communication linked to the disease & condition itself is permitted.

Describe the target audience and why your work is relevant to them.

Communicating to ophthalmologists that Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (wAMD), a debilitating eye condition, can be completely reversed with the proper treatment (Beovu).

Background

wAMD is a debilitating disease that can lead to vision loss if left untreated. There is a low level of awareness on the disease and more particularly on the burden of the disease in interfering with patients everyday life. The brief was to shed light on the emotional aspect of the disease, magnify the suffering of patients and draw attention to the importance of proper diagnosis, management and disease awareness. We were to educate ophthalmologists that wAMD had a viable treatment through a series of medically proven eye injections (Beovu). Our objective was to increase awareness of the medical treatment via Novartis' Beovu injection that ultimately allows patients to live without any visual impairment and burden.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Leveraging the global platform of See What’s Next, we created a localized initiative ‘See the world through their eyes’ - a series of emotional testimonial films by actual wAMD patients that encouraged others to get their eyes tested. To make our communication more effective we used a unique font based on studies published by the Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science journal. This cemented our selection of the Maxular font that would help those with wAMD symptoms to read better. Their narrative gave us valuable insight into the condition and how they were able to save their sight, thanks to timely intervention. These stories and other touchpoints were showcased at the Expo 2020 Novartis Booth where ophthalmologists we’re able to learn more about the available treatment and how to reduce patient burden.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Ophthalmologists are the key HCPs that would address any wAMD symptoms. Their understanding of the disease and the treatment was integral for the success of the campaign. To ensure the communication approach lead to increase in both the awareness of the disease condition and treatment, we targeted ophthalmologists directly through a specialized event at the Expo 2020 at the Novartis Booth in addition to local congress channels of Emirates Society Of Ophthalmology & Evolving Practice of Ophthalmology Middle East Conference. These platforms ensured that our message would be conveyed in an impactful and relevant manner. Leveraging Expo 2020 as a global platform, this exposure enabled us to reach ophthalmologists and educate them on how (wAMD), a debilitating eye condition, can be completely reversed with the proper eye injection treatment (Beovu).

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

To maximize impact, the launch of the campaign was planned to coincide with World Sight Day on October 14th, 2021 to amplify the conversation around wAMD. We targeted ophthalmologists through tailor-made content and reached out to them at the Expo 2020 through a special event at the Novartis Exhibition booth. This involved a combination of sales force interaction, print collaterals that highlight the importance of the specialized font for wAMD patients, and the playing of a series of digital videos that were showcased on an interactive kiosk. The campaign was broadcasted on local congress channels of Emirates Society Of Ophthalmology & Evolving Practice of Ophthalmology Middle East Conference in addition to Novartis Facebook & Instagram channels.

List the results (30% of vote)

We reached 180,000 people at Expo 2020 that mainly comprised of ophthalmologists, key medical leaders, healthcare professionals, and the medical fraternity, increasing overall disease awareness of the wAMD condition. As a result of our efforts on World Sight Day, scheduled and attended eye appointments went up as much as 35% compared to previous years and as a result we were able to help over 450 patients get diagnosed with wAMD in time. Moreover, the entire campaign and activation resulted in an estimated 20% increase in awareness of the wAMD patient burden.