LAST WORDS

TitleLAST WORDS
BrandINDIAN ASSOCIATION OF PALLIATIVE CARE (IAPC)
Product / ServiceAWARENESS ON PALLIATIVE CARE
CategoryE05. Education & Services aimed at Non-Healthcare Professionals
EntrantMEDULLA COMMUNICATIONS Mumbai, INDIA
Idea Creation MEDULLA COMMUNICATIONS Mumbai, INDIA
Production A NINETEEN FILMS Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Mr. Praful Akali Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Managing Director
Mr. Amit Akali Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Chief Creative Officer
Mr. Ajay Takalkar Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Creative Supervisor, Art
Mr. Huzefa Roowala Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Content and Creative Director
Ms. Hensila Kawa Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Digital Media Specialist
Mr. Rahul Sengupta A Nineteen Films Director
Mr. Pradeep Das A Nineteen Films Producer
Mr. Padmanabhan Nair Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Creative Supervisor, Copy
Dr. Shraddha Tawate Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Director, Consumer Healthcare
Ms. Rasika Beke Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Marketing Consultant
Mr. Himanshu Sandhu Medulla Communications Pvt. Ltd. Conceptuliser and Producer
Mr. Himman Dhamija A Nineteen Films Director Of Photography
Mr. Abhilesh Shivalkar A Nineteen Films Editor
Mr. Sandeep Srinivasan A Nineteen Films Associate Director
Mr. Neil Mukherjee A Nineteen Films Music Composer

The Campaign

We unearthed the insight: Surprisingly, most last words are heard by nurses, not families. The creative idea: Could these dying last words – so far unheard by families – bring alive the need for palliative care? We interviewed more than 200 nurses across India and the most heart-rending last words they heard became the heart of our campaign – the film. The campaign used these real last words to start conversations on palliative care, then providing detailed information on palliative care, and finally supporting action through pledges.

Creative Execution

200 nurses were interviewed across India and the most heart-rending last words they heard became our film. The film was launched by the Human Rights Commissioner, with hundreds of doctors pledging to offer palliative care to their patients. The campaign was launched for consumers across social and digital platforms using real last words. The clickable video connected to the website that provided information on palliative care and captured pledges that will be used by IAPC to initiate policy change. All consumers who pledged got downloadable support kits with stickers for their medical files, letting their doctors know, “I’d like access to palliative care”. Influencers and journalists were a key part of our campaign – identifying influencers on social and health-based causes and weaving them into our social conversations. Since endorsements were critical, international palliative care associations were approached to share the campaign with their network and mailing lists.

The real last words resonated with consumers – the campaign probably served as a catharsis – with thousands confessing to have missed hearing the last words of their loved ones. And many more committing to opt for palliative care. Even doctors were not immune to the campaign, with many doctors committing to offer palliative care to their patients, while one even promised to start a palliative care hospital. The campaign achieved over 100 million impressions, half a million organic video views, and 8 million rupees of unpaid media, even trending at no. 3 all-India on Twitter. But real success was achieved when international palliative care associations adopted the campaign, as did members of parliament. The last words are finally being heard.

This campaign was focused on increasing access to palliative care for consumers. A tough ask when even talking about death is taboo. To achieve this cultural and behavioural change, the campaign had to cover multiple but related objectives, reaching multiple target audiences across geographies and across media as below: 1. Increasing awareness for palliative care across media but also establishing the need 2. Initiating conversations through influencers, unpaid media and peers 3. Creating platforms providing more information on palliative care 4. Reaching doctors in addition to consumers, to establish this need

This campaign was focused on building the awareness and need for palliative care. But for this, the caregivers and doctors first need to accept that the patient’s death is imminent. This created the need to reach both consumers and doctors to establish the need for palliative care through our film. In India, talking about death is taboo. Achieving cultural change required initiation of conversations through influencers, unpaid media and peers. Hence, social media and PR became core platforms. While having family around at the time of death does drive this need, palliative care includes several other support areas. This required platforms providing detailed information. When palliative care is required– at the time of imminent death– caregivers are in no shape to make this decision. Hence, like organ donation, it was critical to drive decisions during the campaign itself through pledges. To influence this critical decision, the campaign required strong endorsements.

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