Expertise
Copywriting
Discovery
Marketing Campaigns
Research
Video Production
Driving Awareness to Empower the ALS Community
Challenge
Every 90 minutes, someone is diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and someone passes away from it. A progressive nervous system disease that weakens muscles, ALS is fatal and unpredictable.
There is no cure for ALS yet. But there is hope.
Established in 1985, The ALS Association is the only national nonprofit organization fighting ALS on every front. Through research, care services, public education, and public policy, the ALS Association is doing whatever it takes to improve the lives of people living with ALS and their caregivers.
The ALS Association has a long history of inspiring people to take action through impactful campaigns. But in the backdrop of a global pandemic — one that has had a devastating impact on those living with ALS — they needed to deliver a hopeful message in the face of adversity. To rally the ALS community behind a shared mission and vision for the future.
The ALS Association approached Beyond Definition to help effectively deliver empowering messages of hope to those living with ALS and their families, while driving engagement amongst the wider ALS community.
Outcome
We set out to help the ALS Association integrate its tone and voice into inspiring videos and marketing campaigns, unlocking the potential of every current and future member of the ALS community. Assets needed to hit multiple levels–resonating with people who know the disease very well to new potential donors to caregivers.
Our team developed two campaigns. One for ALS Awareness Month and the other as a rallying call to everyone in the ALS community to do whatever it takes to make ALS a livable disease. With these campaigns, the ALS Association can tell stories of inspiration, progress, and community, while raising critical funds to help in the fight to find a cure.
More than the brilliant creative and ROI that Beyond Definition has delivered, we are so grateful for the way the team has seamlessly integrated with our own communication team to execute world class campaigns. The entire Beyond Definition team has demonstrated time and again both an understanding of, and commitment to, The ALS Association’s mission. That empathy and the deep respect for the community we serve is baked in to every piece of art and every word of content they create for us. It’s the secret sauce that gives our campaigns both authenticity and a distinct resonance.
Phase 1Discovery & Research
The ALS Association is a community filled with people living with ALS, friends, families, caregivers, donors, and volunteers. In order to tell their collective stories accurately, and inspire more people to get involved, we started with a comprehensive research phase.
To better understand the campaign strategy, we facilitated a phone call with key ALS Association stakeholders. We also conducted several deep dives into the ALS Association’s previous campaigns and extracted noteworthy ideas. The ALS Association team is deeply passionate and knowledgeable about their work, which is evident in the association’s website and ongoing communications, events, and content development.
We needed the campaigns to walk the line of educational and inspirational, showcasing the ALS Association’s impact with a unifying call-to-action.
Phase 2ALS Awareness Month Campaign
May marks #ALSAwarenessMonth, an opportunity for the ALS community to educate people on this devastating disease and share stories about the impact it has on those who are diagnosed. The theme for 2021’s ALS Awareness Month was “Every Moment Matters.” Because ALS is a terminal disease with a life expectancy of around 2-5 years, every moment added for a family battling ALS becomes more precious.
The ALS Association had already developed a campaign strategy, theme, asset list, and corresponding timeline, but looked to Beyond Definition to develop a creative direction that captured the essence of the campaign and to create powerful, sharable content to support the month-long awareness drive.
Our team told an intimate, inspirational story of the individuals impacted by ALS and their families by using photography. Each image lived inside a bold red frame representing a snapshotted “Moment.”
Phase 3Whatever It Takes Campaign
The ALS Association is working to make ALS a livable disease. This means a stronger life than is currently expected where people maintain their mobility and independence longer. This means expanding access to treatments and working to prevent ALS in those who may be genetically predisposed. This means doing “Whatever It Takes.”
The campaign theme, “Whatever It Takes,” symbolizes people, the beating heart of the ALS community. At a high level, we wanted to educate, inspire, and drive awareness about ALS and the ALS Association. But, we also developed assets that help explain how ALS impacts families, caregivers, doctors, and researchers, with a rallying call to action to join the fight.
“Whatever It Takes” also ensures Association staff and volunteers are prepared to educate and inspire others. For decades, ALS has been a fatal disease that can strike anyone at any time. Now, in 2021, the ALS Association is doing whatever it takes to make ALS a livable disease.
Due to the success of “Whatever It Takes,” the ALS Association has continued using the campaign messaging for other marketing efforts as part of their ongoing strategy.
