Why is this work relevant for PR?

In Taiwan, most of the people had never heard of the term of SMA per our observation in 2017 when we first broached SMA (figure 1). Under such low SMA disease awareness, how do we help to increase the influence of patient groups and effectively raise public awareness for SMA disease? Created an exclusive PR campaign for SMA： Angels with Hidden Wings Cooperated with the Taiwan Child Neurology Society, the Taiwan Spinal Muscular Atrophy Families, and medical experts to kick off a series of PR program.

Describe any restrictions or regulations regarding Healthcare/RX/Pharma communications in your country/region including:

Taiwan is not allowed to make advertisements for medicaments. What we did was created an exclusive PR campaign for SMA and build partnership with SMA patients through increase patient group public awareness.

Describe the target audience and why your work is relevant to them.

In Taiwan, most of the people had never heard of the term of SMA per our observation in 2017 when we first approached SMA. Also SMA patient group was quiet and not that aggressive to strive more for themselves. Build partnership with SMA patients through increase patient group public awareness.

Background

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is the most common hereditary cause of infant death worldwide. According to statistics, the incidence of SMA is around 1 case in 9,000 - 10,000 live births in Taiwan. SMA is an autosomal recessive hereditary disease that causes degeneration of motor neurons, which leads to the loss of muscle power, subsequently makes walking, feeding, or even breathing difficult for SMA patients . Currently, it is not possible to cure SMA in Taiwan, although there’s no immediate risk of death, SMA patients face the threat of body function degeneration every day. The question SMA patients and their family care the most about is whether there will be more innovative treatment to help patients maintain their current body and motor function. Therefore, we work our best to gain the maximum right for the patients by trying to get the new drug on the market.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

IDEA: Create an exclusive ICON for SMA: Angels with Hidden Wings (1) Each child is every parent’s angel; however, some may be incapable of spreading their wings to fly at will. These “hidden-wing angels” are spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients. We created the exclusive gesture (figure 2) of "Angels with Hidden" as the element of running PR on social media in order to arouse public concern regarding SMA disease. (2) We invited cross-border celebrities, companies, and groups to share the Angels with Hidden Wings gestures. It is hoped that the influence of celebrities and groups from all walks of life and the spread of information from their opinion leaders will enable the public to become more aware of SMA diseases.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

(1) Creating innovative issue as the element of running PR on social media: We invited celebrities and KOLs to share the “Angels with Hidden Wings” gesture on social media to speak for the SMA disease and patients. (2) Reaching free exposure through all media and multi-channels: We pitched some famous online media such as Next Media, Health UDN, and ETtoday to expose SMA microfilm and documentary film to enhance public awareness of SMA. (3) Cooperating with effective media: Included TVBS NEWS & Next Media & USTV & Business Today to interview the type II SMA patient and her family. Successfully enhanced public awareness of SMA disease and the critical urgency of no medical treatment for SMA patients in Taiwan.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

(1) Build Up: -SMA microfilm “Will to Fly” official launch press conference: Premier the first Microfilm about SMA in Taiwan. The main actors, William Hsieh and Vivi Lee, explained the predicament, and current situation, of an SMA patient and family, in an effort to let more people understand the disease. -Created an exclusive PR campaign for SMA: Angels with Hidden Wings. Cooperated with the Taiwan Child Neurological Society, the Taiwan Spinal Muscular Atrophy Families, medical experts, and celebrities to kick off a series of PR programs. (2) Launch: -Leveraged a famous baseball team to enable SMA patients to be the VIP to throw out the ceremonial first pitch (3) Reinforce: -Celebrities’ SMA Promotion videos -Premiere of “One Step to Dream” – the first documentary film on patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) -Successfully pitched tier 1 TV & On-line media

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

(1) Increased 683% online discussion on SMA including the microfilm, documentary film, and promotion videos. We created 2 million+ views, and generated 355,466 views on the SMA patient group official website. In addition, over 150 opinion leaders participated in the exclusive gesture- “Angels with Hidden Wings”, including 36 celebrities, associations and patient groups, for converting commercial value to more than US$285,000. (2) Created 300+ media exposures and 49,502,856 media impressions, for a total PR Value more than US$3,330,000.