Case Study: The Affordable Insulin Project

Partnering to educate and empower people living with diabetes to advocate for lower-cost insulin.

THE SITUATION
The prevalence of diabetes among Americans is rising at an alarming pace, with one-third of individuals with the condition requiring daily insulin. Unfortunately, limited healthcare coverage and high deductibles have resulted in financial strain for patients and their families. As a result, some patients are foregoing necessary insulin due to high out-of-pocket costs, resulting in over a million additional hospitalizations annually.

THE PROJECT
In early 2023, Eli Lilly pledged to limit the cost of insulin to $35 or less, regardless of the patient’s insurance status, thereby ensuring that nobody is deprived of the necessary insulin. Prior to this decision, advocacy groups had been tirelessly campaigning for this change. The Affordable Insulin Project is one such initiative. In 2020, Eli Lilly partnered with the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC) and enlisted Stark / Raving to launch a joint pilot campaign aimed at educating and empowering patients on ways to better advocate for reducing the out-of-pocket costs of insulin.

KEY OUTCOMES

Saved 4% of their total SaaS spend in the first 3 months, and 16% in the first year working with Zylo
Revealed 30% overspend in budget
Saved 10 hours per week, allowing more focus on strategic work
75 contracts negotiated by Zylo in year one
Reduced number of applications by 10% while experiencing rapid growth

Diabetes advocacy group branding and content creation services

Using content marketing to empower people to change the way patients access insulin.

The main goal of our campaign was clear: to provide patients and employers with practical strategies for reducing the exorbitant out-of-pocket costs associated with insulin. However, the sheer volume of available information on this subject often left patients feeling overwhelmed and confused, leading to inaction. To address this challenge, our strategy involved presenting fresh, actionable content in a distinctive manner, designed to meet the unique needs of our target audiences in terms of format and delivery method.

Health literacy leads to better outcomes – and more effective patient advocates.

We concentrated on merging data-driven evidence with practical guidelines in developing our content strategy to advocate for more accessible insulin access. To make this complex information more engaging and accessible to our readers, we collaborated with members of advocacy groups, created visually appealing infographics, and simplified the content to be both impactful and easy to comprehend.

Diabetes advocacy group data and infographic creation services

Diabetes advocacy group website development

Creating a digital rallying point for patients, families, and advocates.

To provide patients and their families with a centralized location to access all available content, resources, and incentives to support their mission to lower the cost of insulin, we recognized the need for a home base. We worked towards creating a website where individuals living with this condition could connect, trade tips, and share their experiences through social channels. This combined effort helped advance their cause.

Delivering patient-centric content to fill an information gap.

In collaboration with DPAC, we created a comprehensive range of interactive tools, worksheets, and resources to empower patients to become informed and take prompt action. The content was centered on guiding patients through the process of calculating the overall cost of diabetes, submitting an appeal to their insurance company, and approaching their company’s human resources department to increase insulin coverage.

Start small to analyze the data. Scale up to reach a national audience.

Budget limitations required creative media planning to demonstrate the effectiveness of the content marketing campaign before a full-scale launch. Our approach was to initiate a 3-month pilot program concentrated on two major media markets – Philadelphia and Atlanta – that have a high incidence of this medical condition. This pilot program would provide valuable data that would allow us to efficiently scale up our efforts nationwide.

Diabetes advocacy group marketing services

Diabetes advocacy group facebook marketing

Using cost-efficient digital strategies to maximize reach.

To achieve the highest return on investment for our partners, we utilized digital media outlets in our go-to-market strategy, allowing for regular optimizations to maximize the media spend. Our approach involved selecting high-impact tactics – streaming radio, banner advertising, and social media – that engaged patients at every stage of their journey and complemented them with emails and search engine marketing to drive conversions.

Diabetes advocacy group digital advertisement marketing services

Diabetes advocacy group radio advertisement marketing services

Using streaming radio to drive measurable results.

Our campaign required every element to provide measurable results to support the expansion of our program nationwide, and streaming radio was the ideal platform for achieving this. Our team created a 30 and 15-second radio advertisement, accompanied by a banner ad, to encourage listeners to download our content directly from their phones. By using a streaming service, we not only reached our target audience but also gained access to detailed performance metrics.

Play the Commercial

Diabetes advocacy group social media marketing

Using streaming radio to drive measurable results.

Play the Commercial

Partnering with GoodRx to deliver added value.

In developing our media strategy, we sought to identify synergies with potential media outlets, and GoodRx proved to be an ideal choice. Their digital platform tracks prescription drug prices across the United States and offers coupons for discounts on medications, making it an optimal platform for engaging with patients through banner advertising when the high cost of prescription insulin is top of mind.

Diabetes advocacy group email marketing services

Leveraging patient advocacy databases to extend reach.

By partnering with advocacy groups, we found opportunities to directly engage with their members and provide them with high-value content. To achieve this, we utilized email marketing to access our partners’ databases, communicate our mission, convey our message, and encourage their active participation in our program.

Partnering to educate and empower people living with diabetes to advocate for lower-cost insulin.

Using content marketing to empower people to change the way patients access insulin.

Health literacy leads to better outcomes – and more effective patient advocates.

Creating a digital rallying point for patients, families, and advocates.

Delivering patient-centric content to fill an information gap.

Start small to analyze the data. Scale up to reach a national audience.

Using cost-efficient digital strategies to maximize reach.

Using streaming radio to drive measurable results.

Play the Commercial

Using streaming radio to drive measurable results.

Play the Commercial

Partnering with GoodRx to deliver added value.

Leveraging patient advocacy databases to extend reach.

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