Why is this work relevant for Media?

This work makes the most of the power of an audio platform in a new way so that patients suffered from a fatal rare disease can change their distress in treatment to their hope for life. It tells a potential of music to treat patients' life, offered by a pharmaceutical brand.

Background

PAH (Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension) is a fatal rare disease where 4 out of 10 patients die within 7 years. It makes appropriate oxygen distribution to the body impossible, leading to shortness of breath even in casual everyday activities such as walking. Whilst PAH can’t be cured, it can be treated. To optimize treatment, the patient's condition is monitored regularly through the ‘6-minute walk test’. This test is mandatory for the provision of treatment, however it is a suffocating, desperate and lonely process that reminds patients of their fatal destiny. So some patients are reluctant or even refuse to take the test. Janssen Pharma which provides Opsumit, a treatment drug for PAH, decided to stand up to the situation to provide a solution beyond medicine.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

The '6 Minutes Together' is an original music playlist designed together with a PAH specialist which aims to transform their 6 minutes of despair into their 6 minutes of positivity. By collaborating with Spotify, forty artists in Japan and around the world including OASIS, QUEEN, and Diana Ross, have offered only songs which are played exactly in 6 minutes. Every song has the exact Beats Per Minute to comply with patients’ walking speed approved by doctors. The playlist also includes a 6-minute medical tips audio for PAH patients recorded by a PAH specialist, Professor Tamura. Furthermore, one of Japan’s most well-known artists, Yo Hitoto, got on board and wrote her original song '6 Minutes' to directly support PAH patients for 6 minutes. It is a potential of music as a new prescription for patients’ life.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The most important target audience are PAH patients who need to regularly take the 6-minute walk tests which makes them breathless and desperate. This work is intended to change their mandatory but desperate time into what makes them motivated and connected with hope. The secondary target audience is the society overall including PAH potential patients. As PAH is a disease with low awareness, it takes approximately 3 and a half years until a patient could be diagnosed. It was common for patients to be diagnosed after the disease had progressed significantly. We challenged to evoke the social interests in the disease from the center of the music culture.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

On April 22 of 2021, the playlist of '6 Minutes Together' was published on Spotify at the same time as releasing its original song '6 Minutes' written by Japanese famous artist Yo Hitoto. Plenty media quickly covered the project and its playlist as a new contribution to patients by a pharmaceutical brand. Since then, the '6 Minutes Together' has expanded from a playlist on Spotify to a variety of activities which raise social interests in the disease. Its online spin-off events have already held three times by patients, doctors and Yo-Hitoto to activate a community against the disease. Furthermore on December 17 of 2021, the project held Yo Hitoto's special live concert on YouTube Live, escalating further awareness among people while gifting her song for PAH patients. The '6 Minutes Together' continues until PAH is the thing of the past.

List the results (30% of vote)

The project was covered by more than 80 media, gaining 118M media impressions within 1 week after its launch, which is unprecedented for communication of a rare disease. The playlist was played more than 25,000 times while reaching more than 9M impressions in total on Spotify in 2021. Plenty national TV stations such as TV Osaka picked up the project in their programs, and plenty patient advocacy groups have started to use Yo Hitoto's song "6 Minutes" as their engaged song. Now the empathy for "6 Minutes Together" is prevailing around the world. UK and US offices of Janssen Pharma have already started to create their original songs to be played exactly in 6 minutes for PAH patients in their own countries. Most importantly, the '6 Minutes Together' is already encouraging patients around the world.