Have you heard of the 50 million pound challenge? It’s a great cause that’s on the minds of many during this festive (and indulgent) time of year.
This year we had the opportunity to bring our mobile skills to the Be Sickle Smart Empowerment Tour, an extension of The 50 Million Pound Challenge. Spearheaded by Novartis, this cause focused on uniting and educating participants and patients in the management of iron overload, a side effect of Sickle Cell Anemia and Cancer Treatments.
Novartis’ goal was to increase a sense of awareness around the Empowerment Tour through a new channel that accompanied their existing email campaign. This effort enabled them to empower more people to be part of something exciting and life altering for patients, families and entire communities.
Individuals and patients alike were able to stay in-the-know by texting BSS and their zip code to a short code in order to receive up-to-date information on the tour in their area. It went a little something like this:
- Participant receives text five weeks out of ongoing Empowerment Tour information, including a date the tour comes to your area.
- Participant receives texts intermittently of reminders and information on disease engagement, driving participants to the website.
- Participant receives text one week out, receive an address and information on transportation options.
After the tour, those who participated continued to receive messages thanking them for their support and keeping them informed on the disease. Those loyalists were also driven to a number of iPhone and Blackberry apps where they could continue communication, education and have a bit of fun with a virtual disease conquering game. The final SMS sent consumers to the Sickle Cell Anemia Facebook page keeping them connected. In the end, this mobile effort allowed Sickle Cell coping consumers and supporters to stay informed no matter where they were, and also drove engagement for Novartis.
The power of the Tweet: Mobile participation increased when Be Sickle Smart Twitter postings included mobile calls to action!
chris.crichton(at)5thfinger.com
