To help diabetes sufferers get their disease under control, the New York-based healthcare agency Consumer Healthworks used a wake-up call approach in its national DTC print roll out of Glucophage, an oral diabetes medication by Bristol-Myers Squibb, to move type two diabetes (adult onset) patients into disease management action. The national campaign, which ran from July to August, used a compelling visual of a grandfather and grandson sitting on a hospital bed to convey the importance of being proactive about managing the disease.
"The message that [diabetes] sufferers might not be around for their grandchildren was one that we thought would get their attention," said Anne Devereaux, CH's president who pointed out most diabetics are either unaware or in denial that they have the disease (less than a third of the 14 million diagnosed have their blood sugar undercontrol).
The million-dollar-plus campaign was driven by a national effort that used mass reach titles like People Magazine, Reader's Digest and Prevention Magazine. Healthcare professionals were also targeted through direct mail and advertorials in specialty physician journals.
The campaign also piggybacked on the national press attention diabetes is getting from Congress and the American Diabetes Association to allocate millions of dollars towards increased diagnostic care for diabetes sufferers. The ads are often placed next to editorial about these initiatives.
So far, the campaign is working, according to Devereaux. Preliminary qualitative and quantitative consumer results show that the ads are ranking in the highest percentile (above normal) for unaided awareness of Glucophage, message recall and ability to motivate patients to take action (talk to a physician). (CH, 212/822-6601; BMS, 609/897-2932)