Hope Lab: Re-Mission
In the United States, young people ages 15–29 are diagnosed with cancer at twice the rate of younger children. For this age group, cancer is the leading cause of nonaccidental death. One major obstacle for survival is a lower adherence to treatment regimens among young people. HopeLab wanted to combat this problem and encourage young people to manage their treatment in a way that would truly resonate. They created Re-Mission, a 3D “shooter” video game that allows the player to control “Roxxi,” a nanobot who destroys cancer cells, battles bacterial infections and manages side effects associated with cancer and cancer treatment while traveling through a patient’s body. DDB’s job was to launch the game, publicize the outcomes study and get the game in the hands of young people dealing with cancer. We developed a campaign that combined PR with advocacy relations and online outreach. It worked.
In the campaign’s first two months, more than 300 major television stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, online news sources, podcasts and blogs covered Re-Mission, and articles about the game were published in more than 20 countries. DDB’s media outreach ultimately resulted in more than 70 million impressions worldwide.
DDB’s outreach to patient advocacy organizations led to strategic partnerships between HopeLab and patient groups, including the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, the Children’s Oncology Camping Association and The Wellness Community.
During the month that the online campaign ran, DDB drove more than 11 million people to the Re-Mission website.