Inspiring Hope, Encouraging Action in Rheumatology
The Rheumatology Research Foundation (RRF) is the largest private funding source for rheumatic disease research in the U.S., raising $170 million in research and training to help the 54 million Americans affected by rheumatic disease.
National media campaign and lead-generation strategy
Campaign messaging, landing page, ad creative, and print collateral
10MM+ impressions and 100+ submissions
Historically, RRF had prioritized communicating with its member base, which consists of physicians and clinicians in the rheumatology field. With only one core audience segment, the organization had limited brand recognition and a low share of voice despite the significant impact it made on funding research for cures. To counter this, RRF wanted to create a messaging system and content strategy that maintained its consistent communication with its member base while also branching out to reach patients and their families and caregivers.
To best understand how to reach both of these audiences with our messaging and content, we enlisted the support of research firm Certus Insights. Certus conducted a series of surveys and individual interviews among current RRF members, patients, and caregivers.
This research procured fascinating insights, primarily that while many members of RRF were interested in the idea of elevating patient-focused communications, they were concerned that a concentrated effort here would distract from RRF’s core research-focused mission. Certus also found that patients and caregivers felt that existing resources from RRF failed to provide detailed information on symptoms and non-medicinal tips on how to ease pain and reduce inflammation. They were less interested in patient testimonials and generic information and more interested in quality-of-life information about living with rheumatic diseases.
Since RRF is not a medical provider and felt it would be inappropriate to provide this type of information, we needed to figure out a compromise: one that elevated its impact among its member base while also resonating with patients and their families.
The solution manifested in the Hope + Action campaign, a lead-generation and user-generated content strategy that encouraged those with rheumatic diseases to submit their stories about how they’ve successfully managed symptoms through non-medicinal means, such as diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits.
The Hope + Action campaign involved a multimedia content approach including digital ads across PPC, digital display, and social that drove traffic to a campaign landing page with gravity forms to collect story submissions, as well as printed materials for placement in clinical settings. The paid media strategy involved geographic and behavioral targeting parameters in large cities with robust medical industries, including Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Raleigh-Durham.
Within the first year of rolling out the Hope + Action campaign, we generated 10.2MM impressions, more than 77,000 clicks with an average $0.75 cost per click, and 112 story submissions. We made strategic pivots that allocated media budget to the patient and caregiver audience, as it was the highest performing when compared to the clinician audience, and developed a new ad set to extend the campaign by also driving traffic to RRF’s main website.
