Finalist
GCA Perspectives – the Hidden Sight-Stealer
Summary of work
Storytelling is at the heart of what we do every day, so when we were approached to tell the story of giant cell arteritis (GCA), a little-known condition which can cause blindness, we were ready to jump straight in. Early diagnosis is the best chance a patient has of minimising the impact of GCA. Despite this, awareness amongst the public and healthcare providers was low. We knew we needed to develop a compelling story for Roche.com to bridge this gap.
Taking the reader on an engaging narrative journey and offering an interactive experience were our main priorities. An online parallax-style hub was developed using eye-catching animated images at the top of each chapter to draw the reader in. A mix of multimedia assets including emotional videos telling the stories of patients, carers and physicians, and key symptoms and statistics were placed throughout to underscore the unmet need, and Roche’s commitment to improving the lives of people living with GCA. Commissioning an external healthcare journalist, Jo Willey, to write the article was the final puzzle piece. She ensured the content was natural and emotive, conveyed an impactful tone of voice, and gave the realities of living with GCA its first influential platform.
Judges’ comments
GCA Perspectives is an informative and solid piece of writing, which was engaging and highly polished. It combined science, patient experience, medical challenge and history to make it a very interesting read.
