THE WORLD VS MS

TitleTHE WORLD VS MS
BrandSANOFI GENZYME
Product/ServiceMULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AWARENESS
Category H01 . Regulated
Entrant HAVAS LYNX Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation HAVAS LYNX Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM
Production HAVAS LYNX Manchester, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Tom Richards Havas Lynx Group Chief Creative Officer
David Hunt Havas Lynx Group Chief Executive Officer
Cath Brassington Havas Lynx Group Group Account Director
Michael Stott Havas Lynx Group Deputy Creative Director
Alicia Dews Havas Lynx Group Senior Creative Copywriter
Anna Bousfield Havas Lynx Group Senior Medical Copywriter
Emma Camden Havas Lynx Group Account Director
Greg Copeland Havas Lynx Group Strategy Lead

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

European regulations state no direct link to products / product name in unbranded communications.

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

Primary audience: People living with MS Secondary audience: People who are involved in the care of people living with MS (i.e. caregiver, family, friends or healthcare professionals). MS is not considered or treated as an urgent or life-limiting condition, thus patients need to be advocates for their own care.

Background

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an incurable and degenerative neurological condition affecting 2.5 million people Most people are diagnosed in their twenties and thirties - as a chronic, progressive condition, they face a life of ever-increasing disability Despite the overwhelming amount of advice and support offered online (by pharma and PAGs), in many cases, MSers are being told what they want to hear, rather than what they need to hear They struggle to navigate the complexities of the condition and find themselves living between relapses. Daily life gets gradually more difficult and everyday tasks turn into everyday challenges The key challenge for Sanofi Genzyme was how to cut through the noise, and provide a truly differentiated and fundamentally useful patient support offering. The campaign had two key objectives: 1) Generate greater awareness of Sanofi Genzyme 2) Demonstrate support to people living with MS

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

The World vs.MS is a socially driven initiative with a single purpose – to improve the lives of those living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Through establishing our community, we have set up a revolutionary platform for change, designed to empower, unite and support people living with MS everyday To date we have created an app which will help millions living with bladder issues, a brain emoji inspiring conversations around brain health and through 1.8 million social engagements, we have supported patients, responding near real time to questions providing information they need to improve their lives with MS

Describe the creative idea

The picture of MS being painted by pharma, adverts of people climbing mountains and content driven by lifestyle tips, was of a condition you cope with The community told a different story. MSers could achieve amazing things, but often it was the everyday activities which caused the biggest problems Being able to run a marathon is great, but what if you can’t put on your socks? Or a model who can’t apply mascara; a designer who can’t draw; a keynote speaker who can’t get on the stage? We had to do more than help people cope. We had to take on these challenges and create tangible solutions If we wanted to make a real difference, we couldn’t do it alone. We needed to ask the MS community to share their challenges, then we needed to challenge the world to solve them We needed it to be The World vs.MS

Describe the execution

TWvsMS approach is shaped by the MS community, enabling us to develop social and educational content validated via ongoing social listening, collaboration with an external steering committee comprising of PwMS and HCPs, ongoing social polls and patient collaborators Across social, we opened-up ongoing conversations with the MS community – supporting them through the issues they wanted to talk about in near real-time Our community management meant we responded to engagements with speed and authenticity unheard of from a pharma campaign in MS We shared real, unfiltered content (blogs and videos) demonstrating the real problems and solutions to managing MS, all from those living with the condition. This meant it was truly content for the community, by the community Through social media, we built relationships with influencers who shared content organically as well as paid social/search and local promotion.

Describe the strategy

MSers are extremely active online and to bolster Sanofi Genzyme’s reputation, we had to engage this sector One centralized campaign, run by a European team and promoted by local markets with 5 key channels allowed us to: 1) Grow our following through demonstrating commitment 2) Engage our audience through near real-time responding 3) Create tangible solutions for problems that impact people living with MS This was achieved through 3 phases: Challenges: asked the community for their everyday challenges Ideas: engaged the world to submit solutions Development: community chose their winning solution awarded a €100,000 grant We worked with 3 key partners; MS Ireland, WIRED and Entrepreneurial Spark whose expertise supported the campaign We opened-up ongoing conversations with the MS community, supporting them through the issues they wanted to talk about Working with an external steering committee, our understanding of their needs grew, allowing us to tailor our interactions

List the results

Throughout the campaign: - Our social following increased by 2,000 - Achieved 77% share of voice - 25,000,000 social impressions over 3,600 posts - Over 1.8 million engagements 24/7 community management has driven ongoing insight development regarding the realities of living with MS These are fed back into the wider business strategy with the intention of improving patient experience and improving outcomes in MS We participate in daily conversations with patients, providing near real-time support, helping them navigate the overwhelming discourse online and provide them with the knowledge to get the most out of life with MS The BladdeRunner app is now in development and will address the needs of those suffering from bladder issues – a problem effecting 80% of MS patients We successfully: 1) Developed a global platform for change 2) Repositioned Sanofi Genzyme at the forefront of MS patient support 3) Revolutionized pharma’s approach to patient support