CHAllenge:

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is a type of lung disease that results in scarring of the lungs for unknown reasons. Over time, the scarring gets worse and it becomes harder to breathe. IPF is fatal, and until recently, only treatable by a lung transplant. Research has yielded two new drugs that slow the progression of the disease, improving quality of life for patients, and in many cases, extending their lives while they wait for transplant. These new drugs are highly effective, but expensive. The drugs are covered under PharmaCare programs in every province, except British Columbia.

The Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation approached us to create an advocacy video with the aim of changing the funding model for these life-preserving drugs.

insight:

Through the discovery process, it became abundantly clear that given the time available for the pitch to the Ministry of Health, the video had to focus on a single patient story. Additionally, for the video to be effective, we had to distill the message to fundamental human outcomes.

strategy:

Hole Hog developed a discovery document identifying the target audience, key audience questions, and key messaging for this very focused project. We conducted a series of pre-interviews with medical experts, patients and advocates to understand the disease, the impact on the patient, their families and the health care system in general. We developed a series of interview questions around the key messaging, and interviewed patients, their caregivers, medical experts and advocates.

We then filmed the necessary supporting visuals and produced a highly emotive finished piece that captures the human impact of the funding decision.

outcomes: 

The video was a key part of the advocacy campaign launched in November 2017, targeting key policy makers in the government and Ministry of Health. We are thrilled to say that in early February 2018, the ministry announced funding for these important drugs.