Rather than revisit the traditional communications path of a patient education campaign, we decided to focus on the carer – the cornerstone of daily support for a person living with schizophrenia – by addressing the unmet educational and emotional needs of this over-worked, under-appreciated section of society.

We set up ‘The Carer Academy', an educational initiative for carers of people living with schizophrenia. The initiative would offer them a free skills-based training course, while also addressing their emotional needs to help ease their sense of isolation, worry and stress.

Offering carers the support, practical tools and key skills they need to survive each day would empower them to create a stronger, more supportive and nurturing environment for the people they care for.

For the brand, it would be an opportunity to reach and engage a new influential audience by offering a service they really need.

Having conducted research among our target audience, we were then ready to drive awareness and course sign-up in Europe, Australia and Canada, towards our first year target of 200 participants. In preparation for the launch date of 12 October 2015 we targeted both health professionals and patient advocacy groups.

Targeting health professionals

We presented our research findings at ENCP Amsterdam, Europe’s largest neuroscience congress, addressing psychiatrists, neurologists and psychologists who treat disorders of the brain. Our aim was to engage mental health professionals in a discussion on the importance of the care-giver’s role, show them why the course was needed, and encourage them to recommend it to carers.

Targeting patient groups

We also presented our research at a dedicated EUFAMI patient advocacy Symposium, announcing that registration was open. We then worked with the global network’s 60 prominent patient advocacy groups to inform carers and encourage sign-up.

The 2015 course attracted nearly 17,000 participants, exceeding our target by 8500%. By launch, we’d already received 1,433 comments on the discussion forums:

“Really looking forward to this course because I think it will be helpful. My son is suffering with psychosis, auditory hallucinations and hallucinations. He's only 19 years old and I find the whole illness very disturbing and traumatic. Here's hoping knowledge will ease my anxieties” (Carer comment posted before the course).

Participant feedback consistently showed how we touched people’s lives and helped make a tangible difference.

• 94% of course participants engaged with the course programme in their home taking advantage of our mobile-friendly format.

• 61% visited the site a few times each week.

• 40% participated in the forums, generating 27,103 comments at the end of the two weeks.

• 97.5% felt the course met or exceeded their expectations, and 1,290 have registered for the 2016 course