People need to know about a problem before they look for a solution.
Most patients suffering from cancer are not aware of oral mucositis, a painful and common side-effect of cancer treatment. Communication about the condition often lacks empathy and usually use clinical and realistic images that induce fear and anxiety.
The core insight decoded was to build awareness of the condition during the patient’s visit to oncologist for primary cancer treatment. Creating a physical and digital ecosystem around the patient that will help build awareness of the disease, induce trial of Swirlz and ensure adherence was the way forward.
Team: Anuranjini Singh, Akshay Dhamapurkar
Need for pain management
Painful ulcers in the mouth (oral mucositis) are a common side-effect of radiation therapy. Swirlz Lidocaine 2% mouthwash is an effective and soothing treatment for the condition. However, most patients are unaware of the condition before treatment and therefore are not looking for a solution.
Before putting up a trial dispensing unit inside clinics the team decided to find out if there was a more effective way to increase acceptance, trial and sale of Swirlz. Research helped the team understand that the key was to spread awareness about the condition and treatment. This would in turn create an environment where Swirlz would be seen as a solution.
The solution was to create a physical and digital ecosystem around the patient that will help build awareness of the disease, induce trial of Swirlz and ensure adherence. Using artistic and calming visual language to educate the patient without causing anxiety.
What you say is important, but how you say it is critical.
Understanding the environment and context if use became crucial. The team spoke to doctors to find out what they thought would be the best way to educate a patient about oral mucositis during a patient’s visit to the clinic.The team followed it up with conversations with RBMs to leverage their observations and boots-on-the-ground experience of interacting with doctors.
The ideal solution would have to help doctors guide patients through information about the condition. Be easily accessible to the doctor when he was talking to patients. Communicate in a manner that would educate the patient about the condition without causing anxiety. Keeping these user needs at the core of the thinking process helped us develop an ecosystem that used both physical and digital assets to inform and educate patients both at the clinic and outside.
Closing the circle of Awareness, Engagement & Experience
Our goal was to generate ideas that would solve for multiple challenges that were unearthed during research. First touchpoint to ensure experience creation is The cube: A multi-purpose desktop object that would have a utilitarian function for the doctor, and also function as an information and sample dispenser.
Product trial is key when it comes to a new launch. Leveraging the doctor’s clinic and making them part of the communication initiative was key in spreading awareness around the product which was a new launch in the market. A desk top accessory which could hold reading material and well as sample and would blend in the clinic environment without being too obtrusive was desired.
Information is only valuable if it’s available when you need it.
The communication collaterals and the website were designed to inform and educate patients about oral mucositis. The leaflet was structured in such a way that doctors could easily take their patients through the areas of concern. The visual language was designed to calm, inform and educate without causing fear. Soothing splash used as primary element of design to represent Swirlz and the action of mouth wash. The colour palette was designed to convey the cooling and refreshing effect of Swirlz. Instead of photographs or realistic illustrations the team used a soothing illustration style to represent the symptoms. The website which had an integrated e commerce and CRM piece was designed to the close the purchase journey after creating awareness and adherence around the disease and the therapy.
