The website targeted physicians who treat liver disease and its complications, including hepatic encephalopathy (HE). These physicians include gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and some primary care physicians.

In general, web must dedicate 30% to 50% of the space to Important Safety Information.

The damage from HE is greater and more permanent than physicians think—there are dire consequences and long-term repercussions from each episode. We needed an arresting and memorable way to change physicians’ perception of the condition. So we created a hard-hitting campaign that visualized the notion of a patient disintegrating bit by bit, and a website experience to remind physicians that the fate of their patients’ cognitive ability lay in their taking action.

Every aspect of the website—from content to design to user experience—was created to make physicians understand the permanent damage HE causes. We created the

campaign’s visual effect with a rig that blasted particles at high speed, slowing them down in post to create a visual depiction of continuous of disintegration. On the site, we brought physicians face-to-face with a typical patient, using a cinemagraph effect to hint at the action about to unfold. Scrolling causes disintegration—both of the patient image and messages describing the permanent damage from HE. Scrolling back up cues a message blocking physicians from doing so, reminding them that “With HE, there may be no going back.” Then, they are given the option of requesting samples to prevent this damage from happening to their patients.

This campaign and site launched in Q2 2015, and was live for a year.

The innovative campaign and web execution led to a jump in site engagement and traffic, and helped spread understanding that HE needed to be treated differently than in the past. Compared to the same time last year, the updated website increased conversions in physician engagement, visits, and unique visitors. Site conversions (physicians seeking further information after landing on the site) increased by 56%, site visits increased by 12%, and unique visitors increased by 6%. Ultimately, this led to an increase in use of Xifaxan 550 mg as well—sales grew by more than 10% in 2015 when the site was live.

Our research told us that many physicians did not realize that damage from episodes of HE could be permanent. We also knew from prescription data that most weren’t treating HE proactively and continuously, but rather waiting for episodes to happen and then responding to them. Additionally, patients with cirrhosis (who are more likely to have episodes of HE) are living longer lives than ever before, so we knew there was more of an opportunity to preserve the cognitive function they have left for longer.

Armed with this knowledge, our approach was to create a web experience that reinforced the permanence of HE damage and the need to treat continuously with Xifaxan 550 mg to prevent it from ever happening.

HE is a complication of liver disease in which ammonia and other toxins not filtered from the bloodstream cause mental and physical symptoms, some of which mirror Alzheimer’s disease. It is a notoriously recurrent condition, but most physicians believe that it is entirely reversible. They think there is no long-term damage if they treat each episode reactively. But new treatment guidelines from experts warn of the potential for permanent cognitive damage. We needed our audience to realize that, with each episode, these patients are losing a bit more of who they once were.

Our goal was to ensure that every patient who has suffered an initial episode of HE would receive continuous treatment, to prevent episodes before the damage was done. Xifaxan 550 mg offered the ideal solution: a simple, twice-daily tablet proven to reduce the risk of these damaging episodes by more than half.