Research & Insights

Eighty percent of migraine sufferers have gastroparesis in conjunction with migraine with vomiting prevalent in nearly 30 percent of them (vomiting contributes to the reduced effectiveness of swallowed medications by expelling them from the stomach before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream).

Additionally, most treatments are most effective only if taken before the migraine attack reaches peak intensity. Unfortunately, 70 percent of migraine sufferers wait to take medication until they are sure it really is a migraine attack (often missing the effectiveness window as a result). Furthermore, most treatments provide incomplete relief, and do not quickly end the migraine attack nor prevent it from coming back later that same day because oral treatments tend to target a single mechanism involved in migraine when in actuality, multiple mechanisms are at work.

All of these factors combined led to many patients becoming so frustrated by the seeming lack of effectiveness of the remedy that they eventually gave up and quit taking it. A survey issued by the brand showed that four out of five patients with migraine were looking to try a new treatment.

Strategy

The frustrating plight of migraine patients and the complexity of the disease led to a campaign intended to promote Trudhesa (administered via POD) as a rerouting of migraine relief from the usual starting point of the stomach to a location no other pharmaceutical company was utilizing—the upper nasal space. The program intended to highlight the innovation in this rerouting in how the roadblocks preventing the speedy travel of active ingredients to the brain are completely bypassed.

After creating the campaign slogan “Reroute Migraine Relief,” we developed a series of overlapping educational campaigns for patients and prescribers. The campaigns leveraged data, regulatory, and disease-awareness milestones to share the value of Trudhesa and the need for non-oral options in the treatment of migraine.

Execution & Tactics

To communicate the concept of rerouting migraine relief around biological roadblocks, the campaign commissioned internationally acclaimed portrait artist Ed Fairburn who is known for taking street maps and using the depicted highways and byways as the contours, hatching, cross-hatching, and shading for creating stunning renderings of people’s faces. The maps chosen by Fairburn for this purpose showed intricately winding roads that enabled him to illustrate that migraine is a complex disease that can be difficult to navigate because of its many twists and turns.

“Reroute Migraine Relief” was given its own social channels which were used to promote all elements of the campaign, including the leveraged milestones, as educational websites were created for patients and prescribers featuring a wealth of information about migraine, treatments, and Trudhesa-POD.

Effectiveness & Results

The campaign proved highly effective. During its run, it achieved the following:

• Earned impressions: over 72 million
• Social impressions: in excess of 78,000
• Media interviews: 26
• Website visits: nearly 37,000