Finding the Light to Bloom - World Scleroderma Day

Client: Federation of European Scleroderma Associations

Scleroderma is a rare disease, relatively unknown to general practitioners and policymakers. This often results in delayed or misdiagnosis and/or limited access to the right treatment. Every year, The Federation of European Scleroderma Associations (FESCA) celebrates World Scleroderma Day on June 29, to educate the public and medical community on what it means for people to live with this disabling disease. It is a day to recognise their bravery, and to demand equal access to treatment and care.

“Find the Light to Bloom” used interpretive dance to highlight the ease of movement that we take for granted, and how this is lost with a scleroderma diagnosis. FESCA wanted to make audiences empathise the experience of living with scleroderma and understand what needs to be done to improve conditions. Because people with scleroderma often describe their symptoms as ‘feeling as if they are turning to stone’, we chose to tell the story of the patient journey through interpretive dance. The campaign was endorsed by EU politicians from different political groups. It secured patronage of the European Parliament (EP) for the November event, which showcased the dance and discussed the survey results. The campaign reached over 1.3M impressions, 403k video views and 173k engagements across social media, for an engagement rate of 8%, increased website views of 521% (June – November 2023) and successfully reached our target audience: 25% users who engaged with our LinkedIn campaign came from Gov. Administration, 10% from policy offices and 11% from Civic, Social and Non-Profit Organisations.