The Italian PR campaign “IO NON SCLERO – I am not crazy” changed the way patients of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are perceived and treated by their doctors, their family, society as a whole, and most importantly how they perceive themselves. Based on the evidence that people with MS are often between 20 - 40 years old, the campaign addressed the difficulties of life with the disease, whilst generating social support.

The campaign unveiled the real face of MS and adopted an unconventional approach, with the ideation of a challenging and ironic claim that changed the tone and allowed patients to find their true voice. The main challenge was to support sufferers in looking towards their future like any other person. The campaign started with the creation and production of a six episode web series that followed the life of a 30-year-old woman suffering from MS. The web series, launched with a media outreach, was supported by the website and Facebook page.

Patients and caregivers were then engaged to submit their own personal stories about their futures and dreams. Yahoo! Italy and a selection of cinemas helped boost the campaign. Following the success of the fictional web series, the campaign now focuses on real life stories, building the MS community even further. IO NON SCLERO reached in the first 6 months over 69 million people in Italy and most importantly showed patients of MS a realistic but optimistic reflection of their futures.

Launched in September 2014, through a web series focusing on the life of a 30-year-old woman with MS, the campaign communicated that life does not end with a diagnosis. The web series focused on everyday milestones such as buying your first home and meeting the love of your life, told through the eyes of someone trying hard to convince the world, “I am not crazy to live a normal life”.

The web series launched with media outreach and was supported by a website and Facebook page. The immediate success generated a Yahoo! Italy endorsement with homepage visibility and special video section. The campaign landed in over 400 cinema screens and MS centers. Posters and postcards also supported visibility and engagement, as well as media activity and Outbrain amplification. An online contest directly engaged patients and caregivers to submit a story about their true projects and dreams.

In contrast to the gloom and doom of previous campaigns, the light-hearted tone of Io Non Sclero struck a chord with audiences.

First 6 months after the launch…

Over 69 million: media impressions

619,000: audience have seen the cinema trailer

77,937: website visits

Over 33%: of website visits from people aged between 25 and 34 years old (target audience)

57,200: views of the series on Yahoo! Italy

108,000: postcards distributed in cinemas

49,252: Facebook page ‘likes’

87,530: user interactions (comments, shares) on Facebook page

2,883: votes received for submissions to the online contest

100% positive sentiment media coverage

100% Facebook page comments were positive

Patients and caregivers sent positive messages through the website and Facebook page to thank the campaign and the important messages involved

Families and physicians commented that the campaign showed patients that their life did not have to change drastically