64,000 people are diagnosed every year with type 1 diabetes. While early screening could let them spot T1D in advance, the diagnosis usually comes as a complete shock–in the emergency room with life-threatening health complications or when lifelong insulin dependence begins.

Common misconceptions were holding people back, preventing them from taking action.

- Many don’t know there is genetic risk with T1D. But any family history makes someone up to 15x more likely to develop it. Most parents aren’t aware of this increased risk or think they can “watch and wait” for symptoms to appear.

- Most people also believe T1D is a juvenile disease. So young adults think they’re out of the woods—that it couldn’t happen to them. But half of new T1D diagnoses happen over the age of 18.

We set out to shift the belief system around T1D, educating about the risks and driving urgency to screen.

Our mission was to empower the public, drive home the risks of T1D, and encourage people to take action. So, we created a bold campaign to get people to rethink type 1 diabetes– to Screen It Like You Mean It.

We knew that we had to build a strong sense of urgency with education that would move the needle. The Screen It Like You Mean It campaign brings an empowering, modern voice to the conversation, meeting people at their level with the information they need to take charge of their health.

But we didn’t just want to urge people to screen. We wanted them to be committed and personally invested in what screening would mean for them. So, we created The 1 Pledge movement to kick off the campaign–a celebrity-driven initiative that showcased their authentic, emotional, and compelling stories about the value of screening during National Diabetes Awareness Month.

The campaign focused on 2 target audience segments, most likely to benefit from T1D screening:

Parents or caregivers of at-risk children

At-risk young adults ages 18-39

Within these target audiences, we faced barriers to the uptake of our messaging. Both of our audience segments severely downplayed their or their children’s risk levels, which made them less likely to consider screening messaging alone. We had to make T1D risk feel relevant and urgent to people who weren’t paying attention.

Then, we had to drive awareness and action, which meant filling an educational void and getting people to commit to screening. This education was especially important in the face of a lack of HCP awareness of the test.

Across a broad mix of media touchpoints, we walked our target segments through each step of the journey–building knowledge, driving motivation, and creating a movement to Screen It Like You Mean It.

We spread the word about screening through targeted placements where health was top of mind and used powerful imagery and personal stories to catch their attention where it wasn’t. Our audience-specific campaign spots made risk and screening feel relatable and urgent. We built off this momentum with a media blitz of bite-sized messaging.

A powerful movement starts with powerful voices–so we created The 1 Pledge. Celebrities and influencers supported the Screen It Like You Mean It message by sharing how T1D screening could have changed their lives. Celebrities USHER, Robin Arzón, and Adam Schefter kickstarted organic and paid influencer campaigns across TikTok, Instagram, Meta, and X.

To kick off National Diabetes Awareness month, The 1 Pledge took over Times Square with a show-stopping event, complete with panel discussions, testimonial booths, a dance routine, and more. The event was livestreamed in the first-ever pharmaceutical event promoted via the YouTube Masthead.

Sanofi broke through the noise during National Diabetes Awareness Month with the highest earned media SOV within the general diabetes conversation at 37% and 52% SOV for T1D specifically.

1.2 billion total impressions in 8 weeks

2.2 million site visits in the first 6 weeks of the campaign, including 813,000 in the first week

18-point lift in net likelihood to get screened, as indicated by a brand lift survey for the campaign's TikTok content

A 300% month-over-month increase in online searches for “type 1 diabetes screening”

36 earned media placements, with 5 major broadcasts such as TODAY, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, and E! News, a notable feat given network competition

48% lift in recommending to others to get screened for T1D vs. control group, as indicated by a cinema brand study

Reddit Category Takeover – First for T1D Conversation Placement exceeded CTR benchmarks by 95%