"Pedal edema, who?"

For most Indians, pedal edema was an alien term. Despite the fact that it was a serious condition, and an indicator of heart problems. People with hypertension and diabetes were at a greater risk.

Condition awareness, however, remained low. The at-risk population was more concerned with managing hypertension, diabetes and heart heath.

Even the defining symptom of pedal edema, foot swelling, was getting wrongly attributed to ageing and lifestyle, and shrugged off.

The project objective here was to help the people of India get acquainted to pedal edema as a concept. And to drive the at-risk population to get their Edema Risk Score checked.

Despite being a serious condition and an indicator of heart problems, edema awareness among Indians was abysmally low. The at-risk population was more concerned with managing hypertension, diabetes and heart heath. Even its defining symptom, foot swelling, was getting wrongly attributed to ageing and lifestyle, and shrugged off.

Hence, to help the people of India get acquainted to pedal edema as a concept, the idea here was to take the classic symbol of introduction - the Handshake - and put a creative spin on it.

GREET EDEMA. SEE A DOCTOR.

Because greeting edema is the first step to treating edema.

The starting point of the strategy was the identification of the most relevant, at-risk patient population for pedal edema. Our physician research, across specialties, showed that for diabetes and hypertension population, the risk of pedal edema - a serious condition that indicates heart problems - was greater.

The next aspect was the targeting and placement. We connected with over 50,000 specialty clinics across India - Consulting Physicians, Cardiologists, Nephrologists - as part of our disease awareness initiative. Our research told us that these were the 3 specialties our patient population were most likely to visit.

In these waiting areas, we used our culturally-nuanced in-clinic posters to spread awareness and inspire action at a patient as well as caregiver level - in terms of driving the at-risk population to get their Edema Risk Score checked and accordingly seek expert intervention.

To help the people of India get acquainted to pedal edema as a concept, we chose the classic symbol of introduction - the Handshake - and put a creative spin on it.

GREET EDEMA. SEE A DOCTOR.

Through a photo-shoot using real edema patients, we designed a series of in-clinic posters that brought alive 3 profiles from different regions of India: Bengal, Maharashtra and Southern India. Their cultural nuances and attire depiction were detailed with great care, so as to build a strong visual connect with our in-clinic population across the nation.

On a parallel note, we also designed a tool for grading edema and checking edema scores, which rested on a micro-site.

The GREET EDEMA poster series closed on a QR code, which urged caregivers to get their loved ones to use the Edema Risk Score tool, check the risk and seek expert advice.

The GREET EDEMA, SEE A DOCTOR disease awareness initiative produced measurable results, in terms of core campaign objective and desired outcomes.

Number of doctor clinics covered across India

(Consulting Physicians, Cardiologists, Nephrologists:

50,000

Number of QR code scans:

210,000

Number of at-risk patients identified, after using the Edema Risk Score tool:

75,000