Tarah's Digital Voice

I am immensely proud of this documentary, which I helped to concept and oversaw the creative effort, from start to finish, for Eisai Pharmaceuticals. Eisai came to us, at Real Branding, with an unbranded, advocacy effort, aimed at raising awareness and support for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a rare and severe form of epilepsy. It's not common, but its impact is deep and devastating, often resulting in hundreds of seizures in a single day. This condition can cause developmental, physical and other disorders, as well, usually requiring a nearly full time commitment from parents of children that are affected.

However, despite these hardships and challenges, the stories of small victories and hope are astounding. Therefore, our approach was to capture several such stories from real people; families that have been living with LGS, for some time, that have managed to gain a level of control over the seizures, allowing them to find joy in the type of everyday accomplishments that most of us take for granted.

This was an intense, but incredibly rewarding project, during which I had the benefit of meeting wonderful people that granted us access to their homes, experiences and expertise. By doing so, they furnished us with the content we needed to create a film that we hope will help to spread the awareness and support that is deeply needed for this condition. 

I encourage you to take a half hour and watch this film. It is tough, at times, but it is also energizing and inspiring. I only wish I could have used all of the great footage that we got, as this could easily have made a feature film. If you happen to work at a TV network or would otherwise like to broadcast this film, please contact me; I would be more than happy to help make that happen. 

I commend Eisai for supporting this endeavor. It is unlike anything they, or most pharmaceutical companies, have done before and we are proud to be their partner. Let's hope it helps the people and families living with LGS to live better lives, even if just a little bit.

I also have to deeply thank our production partner, NBTV Studios, who, as always, went far above and beyond to help us turn an ambitious idea into a beautiful reality.

For more information about LGS, please visit LivingWithLGS.com and LGSFoundation.org

 

CREDITS

Featuring

Mother
Denae Ayers

Daughter
Heather Ayers

Father
Jim Nigro

Son
James Nigro

Neurologists
Tracy A. Glauser, M.D.
John M. Pellock, M.D.

Social Worker
Patricia Gibson

President of LGS Foundation
Christina SanInocencio

 

Also Appearing

Heather’s Father
Robert Ayers

Heather’s Sister
Victoria Ayers

Heather’s Sister
Brittany Carlton

Heather’s Sister
Sarah Carlton

Occupational Therapist
Candace Anderson

Jim Nigro’s Fiancée
Mandy Ayars

James’s Sister
Rebecca Nigro

Patient #1’s Mother
Deborah Pryor

Patient #1
Heather Pryor

Patient #2's Mother
Kathy Rosel

Patient #2
Candace Rosel

Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Cornelia Gonsalves

 

PRODUCTION

Director
Jeff Kennedy

Creative Director & Story Producer
Tarah Feinberg

 

Produced by Real Branding LLC

Managing Director, NY
Alan Feldenkris

Executive Creative Director
Brian Brown

Account Manager
Thomas Padula

 

Production Services Provided by NBTV Studios

Executive Producer
Brant Kantor

Executive Producer
Nick Buzzell

Production Supervisor
Nicole Schoonover

Travel Coordinator
Eirene Mirones

Director of Photography
Jeff Kim

1st Assistant Camera
Kenny Thompson

Gaffer
Yusuke Naito

Sound
Mike Silvestri

Hair/Makeup
Christina Turino

Technical Supervisor & Post
Mike Buzzell

Editor
Josh Miller

Additional Editor
Dave Gutt

Assistant Editors
Logan Seaman
Chase Finn

Composer
John Plenge

Production Assistants
Alex Blakenev
Ryan Evans
Logan Seaman

 

Special Thanks to Caring Hands Pediatric Therapy, Winston-Salem, NC

Developed by Eisai Inc. in cooperation with the LGS Foundation

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a severe form of epilepsy that affects a number if children and adults, but is very unknown, even within the neurological community. Last year, I was fortunate to lead the creative efforts on a branded series of stories about real people living with the condition, and their families, for Banzel, a pharmaceutical that helps to reduce seizures. Their parent company, Eisai, came to us at Real Branding this year, to produce a longer form documentary about LGS fir the advocacy and affected community. I feel incredibly honored to be a part of such meaningful work and to, hopefully, help to raise awareness and support for this difficult obstacle. The film will be up on LivingWithLGS.com on 11/18. Please watch it and let me know what you think. In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the event, my team and the families (our stars) that were able to attend.

Originally posted on Brand New World's blog

"We need brands to create more meaningful connections between their consumers in healthcare." - Dr. Jay Parkinson, founder of The Future Well & Hello Health

We attended "Navigating Social Media and New Technology in Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industries” yesterday (see the Twitter conversation here), a Social Media Week event focused on the challenges and growing number of solutions in this complex and important space. The panel was moderated by Augustine Fou (@acfou), Group Chief Digital Officer at Omnicom's Healthcare Consultancy Group, and featured Dr. Parkinson (@jayparkinson), DJ Edgerton (@wiltonbound), CEO of Zemoga, Oliver Kharraz (@ZocDoc), COO of ZocDoc, and Ned Russell (@SaatchiWellness), Managing Director of Saatchi Wellness. The focus of the panel was mainly on the biggest issues facing both the healthcare industry and patients in social media, causing a dire need for technological and strategic innovation. Other than a passing reference to McNeil Pediatrics' ADHD Moms, which we're big fans of, there wasn't much reference to existing initiatives or tactics being used on social media platforms, probably because companies aren't doing a whole lot yet. While we have created some presence in this space for pharmaceutical companies, such as a first-ever blogger outreach program and a patient and HCP webisode series which was featured on YouTube, we have certainly found much more resistance in this industry than in other areas.

To kick things off, Edgerton stated that the number one reason that pharmaceutical companies are unwilling to get into social media is the reporting of adverse events (more on that here), driving most that even have a Facebook page to turn off wall comments, for example. The ensuing discussion covered a number of advertising and technology responses to this resistance that are already being developed by the panelists and others, most notably:

• ZocDoc, which is like the OpenTable of medicine, streamlining the process for patients to find doctors, make appointments, leave reviews and otherwise manage their relationships with their healthcare professionals
• The Health Tweeder, a tool with an attractive user interface that allows people to quickly drill into the conversations that are happening on Twitter by category
• Hello Health, allowing patients and doctors to communicate directly and efficiently, using modern tools instead of commonly used archaic methods
• LiveWorld, which allows brands to monitor and moderate conversations in social media

The healthcare industry has entered a time where approximately 68% of doctors use smartphones and nine out of ten doctors say that the Internet is absolutely essential to their practices, according to Edgerton. Yet most medical records are still not accessible digitally and to implement a digital records system it requires about a $45,000 up-front investment for a Windows 95-type experience. With rising costs, increased regulations and a patient demand for more immediacy and more transparency, the current analog systems are unsustainable. So how do we help this industry adopt the valuable tools that are now available? As Russell said, "Social media shouldn't be about selling a brand, but providing value to help people make informed healthcare decisions."  Two-way dialogue might not always make sense, but healthcare companies must embrace the fact that conversations are happening, with or without them, and the technology exists for them to truly act as resources and partners for both professionals and patients. The best way for these companies to build their brands is by validating expert voices, providing the tools to take control over health and recognizing the value of individual experiences. When healthcare companies take a more active role in social media, they will become increasingly relevant and engender more trust - which is healthy for everyone.