Our main target are neurologists who specialize on movement disorders in general and Parkinson's disease in particular, during doctor calls and scientific meetings.

Patient advocacy groups in Brazil are also being targeted.

In addition, the idea is being promoted by Spotify to all of its users on the platform itself.

Prescription drugs in Brazil should not be promoted directly to patients in a branded way. Awareness, education and patient support services are allowed, provided they are unbranded.

THE CREATIVE IDEA.

The agency team conducted a research to highlight the unmet needs in Parkinson's treatment. As it turned out, drug therapy and neurological surgery are both effective and improve many of the Parkinson's symptoms. Except one: the so-called Parkinson's gait.

In fact, due to the damaged neurons in the motor brain area, Parkinson's patients "forget" how to walk – it is no longer automatic.

Fortunately… we also came across an exciting new approach to help Parkinson's patients with walking difficulties: MUSIC. More specifically, the use of rhythmic patterns as auditory stimuli.

Music provides rhythm for patients to control their steps. It promotes new neural connections in healthy areas of the brain. Furthermore, music releases dopamine – a natural chemical involved in pleasure and motor control.

Science and music were already there. We just had to connect them.

Welcome to PARKINSOUNDS.

THE EXECUTION.

PARKINSOUNDS was developed in partnership with Spotify. It's based on a free app that runs in seamless integration with a Spotify API.

Its operation is very simple and consists in 3 steps.

1. PARKINSOUNDS helps patients find their ideal pace. Every patient has a walking speed that responds best to the music therapy, and a built-in digital metronome helps finding it.

2. Once the ideal pace is saved, PARKINSOUNDS automatically selects the songs that match that beat, from any Spotify playlist. So patients have millions of songs to choose from.

3. PARKINSOUNDS is able to add audio cues to the patient’s favorite songs – enhancing the beat, in order to make the songs more functional from a rehabilitation perspective.

A media plan promotes the idea among Spotify users. The client drives the use of PARKINSOUNDS via doctor recommendation and patient advocacy groups.

RESULTS.

Although PARKINSOUNDS has only been available for a few weeks, results seem very promising. Doctors' and physiotherapists' feedback has been amazing – they see the value in the idea and recognize the results in their patients. Client considers PARKINSOUNDS as a unique differentiator in a crowded and stagnant market. Spotify is happy to see their platform leveraged for a new purpose. Most importantly, it's touching to see the patients' reactions as they recover their old ability to walk – and to the sound of their favorite songs.

THE STRATEGY.

From the beginning it became clear that we should use digital technologies to unleash the power of music as a rehabilitation tool.

In our view the solution was to be built on the following 3 characteristics.

FRIENDLY. Our idea should be pleasant and enjoyable. We didn't want to be another boring or tiresome rehab exercise in the patient's routine.

PERSONAL. The solution had to be fully customized, and establish an emotional connection with each patient.

ACCESSIBLE. It should be a free solution, easy to use, portable and open for people to access from anywhere.

Besides that, we didn't want to simply come up with another app. We wanted the solution to be a platform, something original and contemporary.

Then it struck us – PARKINSOUNDS, powered by SPOTIFY.

SITUATION.

Parkinson's is the 2nd more prevalent neurological disease in the world. As it progresses, patients become more challenged in their daily activities. The symptom most commonly associated with Parkinson's are trembling hands. But there are many others, all of which impair the patient's independence and self-esteem.

BRIEF.

The agency was challenged to "go beyond the pill". We were requested to come up with an idea that could bring a significant benefit to Parkinson's patients, while being easy to implement and joyful to use.

OBJECTIVES.

Our client wanted to be perceived as a modern, tech-savvy player in a conservative marketplace. Also, the idea should be in line with the therapy itself – as patients take their prescribed drugs, they remain "on" (i.e. steady and productive) for longer periods of time.