A Case of Influence: Shire
Business Opportunity
Following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of VPRIV, an enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher disease, Shire wanted to demonstrate its commitment to the patient community in a real and tangible way versus simply making claims.
Influence Strategy
The Healthcare Practice at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide developed an integrated, digitally driven disease awareness and donor support campaign to reach and engage patients, and the community at large, online. This initiative was designed to strengthen the company’s relationship with the National Gaucher Foundation (NGF) and position Shire as a compassionate leader.
To accomplish these objectives, the Healthcare Practice did the following:
- Partnered with Shire and the NGF to develop a dedicated Facebook page, with content updated regularly throughout the month
- Generated unique content, including daily features and facts about Gaucher disease, physician blog series and patient podcast series
- Developed an algorithm to recognize, calculate and translate each “like” into a donation from Shire to the NGF
- Produced “man on the street” YouTube video that was cross-promoted via Twitter and Facebook
- Issued matte release about campaign to reach smaller markets
- Aided awareness and fundraising efforts through traditional media outreach, internal communications and direct-to-patient engagement
Measure of Success
As a result of these efforts, WE secured the following results:
- Within one month, fans and “likes” numbered 1,100, ten percent of the Gaucher community, and helped raise $10,000 for the NGF
- YouTube video reached over 1,000 views
- Positive coverage in media outlets, such as Boston Business Journal, Mass High Tech, Jewish Press International, and various blog posts
- Matte release distribution resulted in 124 news articles in 7 different states, with a readership of 2,957,568
- Shire efforts acknowledged via NGF newsletter and website content
- Generated positive message pull-through on the listserv directly from patients
- Finalist in the 2011 Medical Marketing & Media Awards ‘Best Use of Social Media’ Category
