In November 2019, the Ad Council and Alzheimer’s Association partnered with WNYC Studios podcast Snap Judgment to create the Listenline, a mini podcast of celebrity stories discussing the importance of talking to your loved ones about Alzheimer's. Talking about Alzheimer's is hard, so that’s why we encouraged people to listen first... The innovative podcast campaign was designed to encourage adult children or significant others of individuals 65+ to speak to their loved ones when they first notice signs of Alzheimer’s and highlight the importance of early detection. The mobile-only ads featured the compelling real stories of five celebrities whose families have experienced Alzheimer’s. The talent included:
Many people delay having a conversation with their loved ones about Alzheimer’s, risking missing out on several medical, emotional, financial, and social benefits of an early diagnosis. Either people are unaware of these benefits, don’t know the symptoms of Alzheimer’s or don’t know how to have such a difficult conversation with their loved one.
The goal of this innovative partnership was to ultimately increase the number of people getting an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. But the approach that the campaign takes is through their loved ones – using real stories and helpful resources to empower children and spouses to have conversations with their loved ones if they notice that they’re acting differently.
The episodes were accessed via an innovative use of an Instagram and Facebook ‘Call Now’ CTA Ads. Typically, the ad is used to connect a person with a local business over a phone call but in this case, it brought listeners to our stories. With a single Swipe or Tap, listeners will be connected to a menu of stories. A recording of Glynn Washington, Host, Creator and Executive Producer of Snap Judgement, introduced the Listen Line and provided listening instructions that helped guide listeners through these real stories.
During the five-month flight, the campaign saw incredible awareness and engagement results – both of which are key areas of our evaluation framework. Our primary goal was to share the Listen Line’s compelling stories with audiences who needed the message, either by having them listen to the stories on our custom landing page or call into our official Listen Line.
The campaign secured high quality and top-tier media placements, including Mashable and Campaign US, as well as amplified awareness around the podcast, which garnered a combined 13,366,014+ impressions.
