Delivered by…

Dementia Strikes Children Too

The Challenge

Childhood dementia is caused by a group of rare neurodegenerative diseases that slowly incapacitates and disables children, ultimately leading to an early death. Due to its rare disease status, very few people were aware of the condition, including clinicians and policymakers. This lack of awareness often resulted in delayed diagnosis, particularly harmful to the children as the brain damage caused is irreversible. Care pathways are also neglected, with only one centre of excellence (Great Ormond Street Hospital) in the country.

The Activation

On behalf of BioMarin, Portland hosted a co-creation workshop to align patient organisations on approach, creative and messaging. Portland then developed the campaign narrative, microsite and creative, creating striking posters and imagery to be launched in a Westminster Station takeover for two weeks, supplemented by an ongoing, and stakeholder aligned, digital campaign and media-sell in.

The Results

The Dementia Strikes Children Too campaign is still live and making an impact. In a short space of time, the campaign garnered excellent results across social and earned media, with online readership of original coverage at 2m+. A parliamentary launch event brought together families, commissioners, policymakers, clinicians, PAGs and BioMarin to discuss change and drive advocacy. Tube station domination sparked social media tweets, calls from journalists and compelling feedback from MPs. The campaign is now entering phase two with a focus on guideline development for the management of these conditions.

Previous case study

Next case study