Client: AbbVie
Changing the Tune of Parkinson's Disease: Elevating the Invisible Voices of Caregivers Over 1 million Americans live with Parkinson's disease (PD), yet a critical voice remained absent from public conversation: caregivers. Despite carrying equal or greater burden than patients, caregivers were historically invisible in disease awareness campaigns—until now. When AbbVie launched VYALEVTM in 2024, offering new hope for symptom management, they recognized a unique opportunity. Rather than clinical messaging, AbbVie's brief was clear: empower caregivers and patients to advocate for better treatment outcomes, authentically position the brand as a leader in PD care, and drive sustained earned media momentum. "Changing the Tune of Parkinson's Disease" is a caregiver-first campaign that reimagines disease awareness through an earned-first strategy. We partnered with Kimberly Schlapman of Grammy-winning Little Big Town—a longtime caregiver to her mother living with PD—creating authentic storytelling that resonated at scale. Insights revealed the PD population is 1.58x more likely to listen to country music and 3.68x more likely to be interested in Little Big Town, guiding a strategy centered on cultural relevance and emotional connection over clinical data. Results exceeded expectations: 165.8M reach across 96 articles (13 original), with 92% mentioning AbbVie and linking to the campaign microsite. Organic social content surpassed benchmarks (Instagram +1.21%, Facebook +4.86%). The campaign website achieved 1,851 sessions with 49.38% engagement (above 40% benchmark) and an 18% click-through rate to VYALEV.com. Caregiver comments demonstrated tangible impact—many reached out to neurologists, joined support groups, and explored resources. This campaign fundamentally changed how the PD community
