Challenge: Change the perception that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is only a disease of the joints.

Objective: Educate rheumatologists on the role of interleukin-6—a protein involved in RA that impacts the body articularly AS WELL as systemically.

Strategy: Raise awareness of the impact of IL-6 in RA on a human level. Clearly demonstrate that the effects of IL-6 spread throughout the body, beyond the joints.

Execution: A successful, wide-sweeping launch at the American College Rheumatology annual meeting in Boston, MA November 14, 2014, with a commanding print, marquee, signage and booth presence.

Outcome: Both U.S. and European rheumatologists were quoted as saying that the campaign was “striking” and “quite different”. The message resonated as well as rheumatologists also said they “should be thinking about the whole person”.

For maximum, targeted exposure, the campaign launched at the preeminent American College Rheumatology (ACR) annual meeting in Boston, MA November 14, 2014.

Non-personal promotion drew qualified leads attending the meeting to the Sanofi Regeneron convention booth. Ads was placed in The Rheumatologist and Arthritis Care & Research the month leading up to the convention. An ad also ran in the Daily News during the convention, which was distributed to all ACR attendees. Additionally, a marquee video displaying the campaign played outside the convention center throughout the convention.

The convention floor booth pulled through the design and message elements of the campaign, giving attendees the opportunity to learn more about the science behind the impact of IL-6.

The visual impact of the campaign was seen in both US and European rheumatologists. Clinicians spoke to the execution being “more striking and less like a lesson in medicine”. Others saw the science behind the campaign immediately and realized “we should be thinking about the whole person, not just their joints.”

Additional comments aligned perfectly with the campaign’s intent, as rheumatologists were prompted to consider the human element behind any RA treatment: “we’ve seen lots of patients before in ads, but this one is quite different.”