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Case Histories

American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI):
Find an Allergist, Find Relief

Challenge

About 50 million Americans have allergies and more than 24 million have asthma, but few understand the value of seeing an allergist for relief or even know what an allergist does. In a recent survey, just 39 percent of the public said an allergist treats allergies; only 7 percent said an allergist treats asthma. So how do you get more allergy and asthma sufferers to seek care from the medical doctor best trained to treat these conditions? Find out what’s stopping them and develop a plan to address it.

Faced with consumer avoidance of specialty care, self-medication with ineffective drugs and increased competition from unqualified practitioners, the ACAAI did just that, working through a branding process and launching an extensive public awareness campaign to raise awareness of the diseases allergists treat and the benefits of allergist care to help the millions who suffer find relief.

Research, Brand Development and Implementation

An effective allergist brand needed to represent the specialty in a memorable and distinct way and include messages that address the range of concerns people have about allergists, allergies and asthma. To accomplish this, the campaign was designed based on qualitative and quantitative research using surveys, interviews and focus groups of both ACAAI members and allergy and asthma sufferers.

The research helped verify perceptions held about allergies by the general public and specific subgroups; determine who seeks an allergist and under what circumstances; and identify the trigger points—such as an asthma attack or a small sniffle—that motivate patients to seek care, from whom or with what medication. We also determined how patients gather information about asthma and allergies and the specific resources they seek out and trust. Based on the research, the allergist brand was created and launched with the following components:

  • a distinctive, evocative logo with defined messaging (Find an Allergist, Find Relief) and images that resonated with the organization's target audiences, particularly chronic allergy and asthma sufferers;
  • a new, user friendly website
  • an integrated, multimedia communications campaign that included advertising, online outreach, media relations, and partner and member mobilization.

Results

Two years into the three-year campaign, the ACAAI has achieved its campaign objectives:
 
Objective #1: Raise awareness of allergies and asthma, and the benefits of seeing an allergist for diagnosis and treatment.

  • Proactive media relations resulted in 5,300 articles, broadcasts and online mentions, reaching an estimated audience of 2.7 billion. More than 91 percent of media placements carried campaign messages, including 84 percent specifically mentioning the allergist specialty

Objective #2: Motivate allergy and asthma sufferers to take action

  • 642,676 unique visitors to AllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org, including 94,850 people accessing the Allergist locator to find an allergist in their community

Objective #3: Differentiate allergists from other clinicians

  • 1,727 ACAAI members, 54 percent of membership, joined the Relief Team, spreading campaign messages in local markets