Asthma Awareness Week 2020

The Asthma Society of Ireland approached us to devise a campaign to raise public awareness around Asthma Awareness Week 2020.

The objective of the campaign was twofold – to drive awareness of the concerns of asthmatics in Ireland amid a global pandemic and to launch the Asthma Society’s new Slainte Care funded nurse led Asthma Whatsapp messaging service.

As Covid 19 prevented any on street or physical fundraising events, Asthma Awareness Week 2020 also sought to raise much needed funds to continue the Asthma society’s crucial work. A virtual fundraising appeal 10 Million Steps for Asthma asked supporters to walk, jog or run 10,000 steps every day during Asthma Awareness Week and to fundraise for the Asthma Society.

Background

Ireland has amongst the highest rates of asthma in the world*. One in five people in Ireland (890,000) and one in ten children will develop asthma in their lifetime. It is estimated that more than half of people living with asthma do not have their disease under control, putting them at higher risk of asthma attacks, exacerbations, hospitalisations, absence from school and work, and even dying due to their condition**.

In response to these stark figures, the Asthma Awareness Week campaign focused on the provision of information in order to prevent further asthma deaths. It did so by aiming to improve the lives of people living with asthma by educating around asthma management controls, correct use of medications, and informing those who may come to develop the condition about the symptoms of the disease. The campaign also aimed to help alleviate the anxiety felt by people with respiratory conditions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Most importantly Asthma Awareness Week strove to highlight the free expert advice available via the Slainte Care funded Asthma and COPD Adviceline and to launch the new Slainte Care funded nurse led Asthma Whatsapp messaging service.

Our Response

Etch designed and oversaw a hard working public awareness media relations campaign around Asthma Awareness Week that aimed to reach as many media outlets as possible over a short period of time.

The campaign utilised the findings of a recent survey of 2,300 asthma patients about their experiences and concerns around Covid 19, which resonated with the media and resulted in widespread earned media coverage.   

Highlights included national broadcast interviews with Asthma Society of Ireland CEO Sarah O’Connor on World Asthma Day on RTE’s Morning Ireland, Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder, Today FM’s The Last Word with Matt Cooper, and the RTE Nine O’Clock news as well as multiple print interviews.

There were also interviews with Respiratory Consultant Marcus Butler, Head of the Asthma Society’s Medical Advisory Board on Newstalk’s Clare McKenna’s Alive and Kicking show as well as a double page spread in the Irish Independent Health and Living section about asthmatic Fiadh Egan’s difficult experience of getting sick with covid whilst working in a nursing home and parenting in a pandemic.

The campaign was also supported by influencer outreach, social media, creative content and some paid for media support. The Asthma Society of Ireland’s spokespersons and ambassadors / influencers were called upon to educate and inform as well as highlighting the real need for donations for the virtual walk. Video appeals were given by then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, then Minister for Health, Simon Harris, Ex Rugby Player, Tommy Bowe and Ex Kerry Footballer, Tomas O’Se amongst others.

Print
(117)

Radio
(153)

Online
(131)

Impact

There were 82,582 visits and 67,490 unique page visits to asthma.ie around Asthma Awareness Week – an increase of 98% on Asthma Awareness Week 2019.

There were 164 new Asthma and COPD Adviceline appointments requested during Asthma Awareness Week. The newly WhatsApp message service also had 153 active users in its first week with most conversations 10-12 messages long.

The Campaign performed very well in terms of digital growth and engagement – doubling the results of Asthma Awareness Week 2019 across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn platforms with 12,607 engagements a total reach of 710,000 people over the course of the campaign.

The ‘10 Million Steps for Asthma’ campaign resulted in 15 million steps achieved over the course of Asthma Awareness Week. This virtual fundraising initiative provided much needed funds for the Asthma Society of Ireland in a year where fundraising had been severely impacted due to Covid.

Outcome

Asthma Awareness Week 2020 surpassed all preset key performance indicators and achieved its aims to engage with, and advocate for, the asthma community in Ireland. Asthma Awareness Week 2020 reminded the asthma community that support and help is out there, encouraging people to take their medicine as prescribed and not to delay in seeking treatment around any concerns, leaving us another step closer to the asthma society’s overarching mission of preventing further unnecessary deaths in Ireland.