Showing pharma teams the emotional burdens of patients and physicians
An experiential workshop to help prepare for the launch of a new liver cancer treatment
Our client's challenge
To prepare brand, marketing, and sales teams for the launch of a new liver cancer treatment while also bringing people together for an uncommon face-to-face national meeting.
The experiences of patients and those who care for them needed to be the primary focus, while also taking learners on a sensory journey through their world.
Our insight
We needed to build genuine empathy for both patients and the physicians treating them in this space, especially because a clear barrier to success in the launch was a feeling of nihilism that had come to pervade among physicians, due to the dearth of innovative, meaningful options for this disease prior to this launch.
Our approach
We wanted to include real patient stories in a sensitive way, which did not compromise confidentiality by revealing names or other personal details.
To achieve this, we drew inspiration from patient journals to create the stories of ‘Clarence’ and ‘Kristen’ (real patients with fictional names).
Additionally, our close working relationship with the client meant we were able to approach planning in a flexible way as the brand strategy was evolving in real-time ahead of the therapy launch.
Our solution
We created an experiential workshop for 80 brand, marketing, and sales specialists, which took them on a journey through the experiences of patients with newly diagnosed liver cancers. We wanted to deeply immerse our audience in the characters’ stories and so incorporated sights, sounds, and smells.
The workshop was divided into four sections to create a storytelling journey.
1. Discover the Patient
Provided information on Clarence and Kristen’s backgrounds, family lives and hobbies, along with thought-starter questions, so that attendees could learn more about the patients and better understand their motivations and experiences.
2. Elevating Patient Voices
Featured 4 audio tracks from Clarence and Kristen sharing their experiences, while we also used the scent of pine or the sea to evoke the patients’ memories of trips with family.
3. Physicians’ Perspectives
Examined the emotions and frustrations of the physicians treating them, as well as how they coordinate and consider treatments in practice.
4. Time for Reflection and Engagement
Emphasized the emotional experience of the learner in response to the patients’ and physicians’ narratives.
Each element of the experience was designed to connect clinical realities and experiences with the potential to make meaningful impacts on patients and their caregivers.
Immediate results
93.6%
agreed or strongly agreed that they had a better appreciation for the mental and physical toll that liver cancer takes on patients and caretakers
90.4%
agreed or strongly agreed that they had increased awareness of the challenges multidisciplinary team members face when diagnosing and treating liver cancer
87.1%
agreed or strongly agreed that the immersive journey experience was valuable and the sessions would enhance the utility of their current role
93.6%
agreed or strongly agreed that by the end of the workshop, they were able to better understand the challenges patients face as they navigate through their cancer journey
93.5%
of attendees said they strongly agreed or agreed that they had a clearer understanding of the psychological challenges liver cancer presents the MDT