Awareness campaign around engagement in life with a chronic condition

An Apple A Day developed an awareness concept that puts thrombosis on the radar of healthcare professionals sooner. Created for the Dutch market and, after an enthusiastic reception, expanded to a second country.

The challenge

A life-changing diagnosis can create the feeling that the condition sets the pace. For many people, waiting it out feels like the obvious response. At the same time, there's often more room to choose than it seems: in how you approach your care, in what you still want, and in the moments you find valuable. The brief was to invite patients to reflect on that themselves, with full room for what is and isn't within their own control.

The approach

The core of the concept was an invitation: look at what you can do yourself to get more out of life, even with a chronic condition. That moment sometimes arises on its own, and sometimes because you go looking for it yourself. The concept made that idea felt with respect for what the condition brings with it, without promising that everything can be shaped at will.

The execution brought real stories to the front. In personal video portraits, we followed patients at home and let them speak for themselves about what engagement looks like in their lives. Alongside that, we made informative videos with healthcare providers, in which they explain a number of key themes around the condition. A landing page brought everything together as a central place for the stories and the information.

A careful process

Working with patients and healthcare providers takes care at every step. We guided the patients who shared their story from start to finish: we explained clearly beforehand what participation involved, gave them room to set boundaries, and made sure people felt comfortable during filming at home. We also carefully arranged the agreements around use and rights. With the healthcare providers, we worked closely on the content, so the themes were medically accurate and matched real practice. That produced material that doesn't just resonate, but is also correct and supported.

The result

The campaign was received with great enthusiasm by healthcare providers, who embraced the materials as support in conversations with their patients. That gave the theme of engagement a tangible place in the consultation room.