HS can be difficult to identify. But our audience are intelligent healthcare professionals, they thrive on getting things right; solving problems that lead to better patient outcomes. An intriguing, beautiful puzzle was the perfect way to navigate the myriad shock tactics and graphic imagery vying for their everyday attention.

Strictly no mention or link to be made to the sole branded pharma treatment likely to be prescribed. Cultural restrictions on showing naked female forms meant duplicate casting, bodypaint and design process using a male model (for use in UAE markets or as an alternative if preferred in other markets)

HS is a progressive, extremely painful auto-immune condition, most common in overweight females. Its skin lesions and boils present in the most embarrassing parts of the body; sufferers are often too embarrassed to seek help, hiding themselves away until the condition is severe. Commonly misdiagnosed as anything from an STI, to bad hygiene or ingrown hairs, HS sufferers can slip through the cracks in the healthcare system, becoming increasingly socially-isolated and lost. We needed to intervene and do three things: get on a busy HCP’s radar; set them an intriguing puzzle to solve; send them online for more education – empowering them to make the correct diagnosis and set HS sufferers free.The wallpaper pattern was designed to double as an educational piece – appearing only in areas that HS presents. This detail of the pattern was tested and agreed in partnership with medical regulatory legal teams to ensure medical accuracy.

Replicating the media plan based around regional MedScape banner click-throughs, a Global HS Awareness Pilot Scheme was launched in Q4 2017, with several affiliate countries voting to use the final creative work within their markets and also agreeing to gather referral data. This pilot scheme is currently underway in Belgium and Hungary, then due to extend to Brazil, Denmark and beyond. Further affiliate-country adoption of the creative is expected – reaching more HCPs and further positively impacting HS sufferers’ lives.

Where previously there was just uncertainty and misdiagnoses, we’ve created an invitation to solve the puzzle of HS. A beautiful break in a world of shock tactics. A vital aid to facilitate diagnosis + referral.

Qualitative feedback so far among the HCP (Health Care Professional) community has been positive: "We all need to spot HS earlier: this campaign highlights this beautifully." (Dermatologist) ; "The image is very distinctive, I like how the campaign doesn't show any real life patients smiling, I find it memorable." (GP) ; "This is really intriguing, I'd definitely like to find out more about this." (GP)

Only true HS patient referral figures can portray how effective the campaign really is, and that data will be with us later in the year (after entry deadline).

The single campaign idea of ‘finding the HS sufferer’ needed to reach HCPs via multiple media: digital banners leading to printed and downloadable online PDF guides, and a microsite – all tailored to each market’s individual referral hub via market-specific URLs. The role of communications throughout was to get non-expert doctors to realise symptoms could be due to a serious autoimmune condition needing specialist treatment, and refer accordingly. The pattern used in the masking wallpaper also doubled as an educational diagram – highlighting the areas that HS affects (as specifically shown in the ‘The art of diagnosing HS’ leaflet content).

Our HCP audience are compassion-fatigued problem solvers. Compassion fatigue is the emotional strain of being exposed to the suffering of others – it is common amongst caregivers, including doctors and nurses. Similarly, over-exposure to graphic medical imagery means that shocking images of just how horrific HS can become are unlikely to register with our audience – even fuelling a blame culture rather than providing an empowering way to engage. Reaching HCPs in familiar territory via banners on MedScape also meant competing with a sea of such medical imagery. Our approach was ‘disruptive beauty’. An unexpected visual style, twinned with the cerebral puzzle/challenge to ‘find the HS sufferer’. Banner clicks take the HCP to their local site where our downloadable guides to diagnosing HS are available, alongside the local referral process.