ACAAI Time for an Allergist Campaign

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) needed a digital campaign to raise awareness among primary care providers about the value that board-certified, fellowship-trained allergists bring to patient care. As a secondary audience, they also wanted to raise awareness among consumers/patients of the value of allergist care. The centerpiece of the campaign needed to be one or more video “commercials” targeted to both audiences, so they had to speak to patients and healthcare providers without tuning one or the other out.

The goal was to increase referrals of patients from their family doctor or pediatrician to these allergy specialists so that more patients can realize the goal of having their allergy and asthma symptoms under control. The ACAAI also hopes to see more patients seeking out allergist care on their own once they’ve learned more about it. Anyone who has allergies or asthma knows how hard it is to get symptoms like wheezing, sneezing, or itching under control—even after seeing a doctor. We developed a campaign-branded microsite to highlight the importance of referring allergy and asthma sufferers to board-certified allergists. The site showcased two videos to convince primary care providers and patients that, if you're wheezing, sneezing, or itching, it’s time for an allergist. This simple, streamlined page did what it was intended to: it drove patients to allergists—in droves. We partnered with a celebrity to create the two videos. John C. McGinley played Dr. Cox in the Emmy Award-winning comedy Scrubs with a level of humor and intelligence we knew would fit this campaign perfectly. The videos he stars in are not just funny, educational, and relatable, but credible. And dare we say it, smart enough to speak to docs on their wavelength. From email templates to office posters to postcards to an infographic, each component extolled the importance of seeking a board-certified, fellowship-trained allergist to end the cycle of suffering with allergies or asthma. We rounded out our campaign with a series of banner ads reminding doctors that, if their patients are still suffering, perhaps it's time for an allergist.