City of Hope is a nationally renowned center for cancer research and care; however few people knew about its long legacy in diabetes research and advancements. More than 40 years ago in 1978, Drs. Arthur Riggs and Keiichi Itakura developed the technology to make synthetic human insulin, which remains the standard of care for millions living with diabetes worldwide.
City of Hope has one of the most active diabetes research programs in the world, yet the institution is better known as one of the nation's leading cancer hospitals and not fully recognized for the more than 40 years of scientific contributions that have revolutionized our understanding and treatment of this disease. Today, scientists are exploring exciting research in cell transplantation, gene regulation, immune tolerance and a new understanding of diabetes as a complex, multifaceted disease.
City of Hope charged W2O with increasing awareness and enhancing the reputation of its Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute to support its ongoing goal of attracting financial donations for research. Since the Institute primarily focused on research, City of Hope initially had few relationships with diabetes patient advocacy groups. It became critically important to strengthen the existing relationships and develop new ones as they were vital for engaging the patient community in conversations around diabetes innovation.
Our objective was to increase awareness and enhance the reputation of City of Hope’s Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute to:
- Support its ongoing goal of increasing financial donations for research
- Develop new and influential diabetes third-party alliances
“Faces of Diabetes Innovation: Journey to a Cure” was a pilot content marketing initiative, which launch in November 2019 around National Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day (November 14), to elevate the people behind diabetes innovation and today’s journey towards a cure. This campaign featured fresh content for people with diabetes and their caregivers, and culminated with an engaging Facebook livestreamed discussion with key diabetes trailblazers.
Our strategy:
Work with City of Hope to showcase its research contributions to diabetes innovation and the journey towards a cure
- Leverage National Diabetes Awareness Month (November) and World Diabetes Day (November 14) to create compelling content that inserts City of Hope into the broader diabetes conversation
- Build relationships with influential third-party, diabetes-focused organizations and individuals
Our target audience:
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- General public, with emphasis on people living with diabetes and their supporters
- Influential diabetes advocacy organizations and their membership/constituents
Execution:
We developed original online content, which was amplified across PESO channels:
- “Faces of Diabetes Innovation” Video Stories – W2O developed five ~2-minute video stories featuring the five chairs of City of Hope’s Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute. Each explained their cure-focused research programs and where they think research is heading
- World Diabetes Day Facebook Live Event – W2O executed hour-long panel discussion on diabetes innovation and the journey toward a cure moderated by Sam Talbot of Beyond Type 1 and featuring City of Hope diabetes researchers, a journalist and JDRF board member
- “Teaser” video featuring City of Hope’s diabetes research milestones promoted event and encouraged attendance
- Posted event replay for those who missed it live
- Paid Social Media: City of Hope deployed paid social media campaign to drive higher engagement on posts featuring video stories and Facebook Live event
- Thirty-Day Content Blitz – City of Hope developed 15 feature blog stories chronicling its diabetes program, from the discovery of insulin to today’s search for a diabetes vaccine.
- Content was supported by paid and organic social media over 30 days
- 40% increase in philanthropic donations during National Diabetes Awareness Month!
- Dramatic uptick in patient interest in the diabetes program during/following the campaign!
- 41% increase in emails
- 40% increase in website inquiries
- 19% increase in number of Hotline inquiries
- 143 diabetes email signups
- Nearly 3K page views of microsite during November
- 400K combined video views during November and a dramatic increase in time on the website!
- Facebook Live event: 88K total views during November; high engagement:
- 146 comments
- 451 likes/reactions
- 160 shares
- Diabetes innovator videos: 325K views
- Diabetes timeline video: 1.3K views
- Developed/strengthened relationships with six diabetes organizations/individuals, key to extending reach of City of Hope’s diabetes content
- Beyond Type 1, which also wrote a blog post about the Facebook Live event
- JDRF
- Healthline’s DiabetesMine blog
- T1D Mod Squad
- Ashley Furniture (Wanek family owns Ashley Furniture and supports City of Hope diabetes research)
- Frank Buckley/KTLA reporter
- 3 media stories about City of Hope’s diabetes research (Healthline, blogtalkradio “Diabetes Late Nite” podcast, Reuters Health)
Video for City of Hope and the Faces of Diabetes Innovation: Journey to a Cure
