THE CHALLENGE

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, 76% of immunocompromised Americans believed they required supplementary protection beyond vaccines. Despite this, only 26% actively sought additional safeguarding, often unaware of the potential role monoclonal antibodies could play in preventing COVID-19.

AstraZeneca faced the challenge of developing an effective education strategy that empowered immunocompromised individuals to engage in conversations with their healthcare providers about its groundbreaking therapy. Simultaneously, the strategy had to avoid undermining vaccine confidence and creating undue demand for the therapy among those with healthy immune systems.

THE STRATEGY

Edelman aimed to acknowledge the enduring reality that COVID-19 created for immunocompromised Americans and provide them with a solution for everyday living through AstraZeneca's long-acting monoclonal antibody, EVUSHELD. 

As EVUSHELD is the sole monoclonal antibody authorized for prevention, Edelman initiated an unbranded campaign to diversify outreach and balance innovative creativity with the regulatory constraints of pharmaceutical marketing. 

THE MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK

The DXI team devised a comprehensive, multichannel measurement framework encompassing paid social, earned media, social (earned and owned), web, publisher integrations, Social Media Research Tools, roundtables, press releases and partnerships with three celebrities and 14 influencers. 

As the foundation for our ongoing measurement approach, the framework included baseline metrics and targets for most KPIs, enabling continuous performance tracking across channels and tactics. An online survey was distributed among immunocompromised patients to ensure that all campaign tactics aligned with the correct Key Performance Indicators that contributed to achieving Up The Antibodies' objectives.

The framework also incorporated data collected from inter-agency relationships and AstraZeneca's internal stakeholders to present a unified story around the success of Up The Antibodies. 

DXI provided a weekly KPI analysis and a six-week wrap report, demonstrating the campaign’s success across all tactics, encompassing effective storytelling and offering insights for future campaigns.

THE MEASUREMENT

The online survey, conducted before the campaign launch and distributed among 400 immunocompromised patients, revealed that 76% believed they needed supplemental protection beyond the COVID-19 vaccine. However, less than half were aware such protection existed, and only 26% actively sought it. These results provided a concrete yet emotional understanding of the evolving pandemic experience for immunocompromised Americans, shaping strategy and informing creative content that would resonate, motivate, and be memorable. This led the Edelman team to develop a personal story featuring Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges, which brought the campaign to life as he shared his near-death battle with COVID-19 in a powerful PSA encouraging people to learn about protective monoclonal antibody therapy.  

Throughout and after the campaign, DXI implemented a holistic measurement ecosystem, including operational and effectiveness measures to assess campaign performance. DXI measured campaign success using metrics such as offline patient surveys, brand lift studies, earned and owned media measurement, website analytics, influencer and celebrity partner analytics, traditional PR analytics, publisher integration measurement, and paid analytics.

THE OUTCOME

In one week, we bolstered awareness of a long-acting monoclonal antibody as a preventative solution through …