With in-depth clinical science more accessible and therefore confusing than ever, Merck’s Multiple Sclerosis Experience provides clear insight into the disease from two interdependent perspectives. Enabling MS to be experienced from inside the mind as well as the body, the experience increases awareness and understanding of how - as well as what - patients feel.

MY OTHER LIFE - a next-generation 4D VR experience mapping ‘in-their-mind’ patient stories to a user-reactive space gives deeply empathetic insight into the ‘invisible’ psychological impact of sufferers’ symptoms.

MS: INSIDE OUT - the accompanying physical experience tangibly demonstrates the physiological effects of the disease on the human body. Four ‘real-world’ zones provide a journey through the mobility, cognitive and sensory struggles sufferers face in everyday situations.

This combined, clinically authenticated, experience is the first ever to offer both physical and emotional immersion into the lives of the people behind the diagnosis.

Merck’s brief to “change the perception of MS” was issued December 2016, following attendance of London’s ECTRIMS 2016.

The creative response was to provide actual experiences of the ‘unseen’ implications of MS: a highly unusual approach for scientific conferences.

After painstaking clinical validation was provided by us, two ‘counterpoint’ experiences were developed entirely by Momentum's in-agency teams: from concept and environmental design to VR programming and live production.

At 56sqm, MS: INSIDE OUT used everyday examples such as ‘anything-but-easy’ chairs and weighted packages to directly demonstrate the condition’s effects on human mobility, dexterity and stamina.

The 17sqm user-reactive MY OTHER LIFE gave unprecedented emotional insight with next-generation 4D VR telling of ‘in-their-mind’ patient stories: from dealing with work stresses to children reacting to changes they don’t yet understand.

Looking beyond science to see the people behind the diagnosis, the experiences enable anyone to ‘feel’ what is a very intangible disease.

With the objective to increase understanding of MS amongst professionals at ECTRIMS 2017, a post-experience survey was employed to measure perception shift – summarised below:

• 95% said their understanding and awareness of MS improved

• 78% said their medical knowledge of MS improved

• 68% visited the experience to actively improve their understanding of MS

Written ‘Reflect & Respond’ practitioner feedback was also collected:

“It’s difficult to really experience the everyday struggles of MS, but this is incredibly insightful. Eye-opener indeed.”

“The anxiety you experience is overwhelming. The physical symptoms are hard enough to deal with, but you often forget the mental and emotional toll the condition takes...”

“How overwhelming MS must be...I couldn’t imagine how MS could affect my whole life, but I did in 5 minutes.”

The ECTRIMS debut created requests to visit multiple global territories, proving its power to bring people closer to understanding Multiple Sclerosis.