Overview
Getting Out of the Rough is a six-part series hosted by PGA champion Jason Day. The campaign brings biomarker testing into the conversation through Jason’s own story as a caregiver to his mother, who was diagnosed with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. In each episode, Jason sits down with an influencer from medicine or entertainment to talk candidly about caring for a loved one with lung cancer. Guests included Julie Bowen, Anthony Anderson, and Bellamy Young.
The Challenge
Up to 25% of patients diagnosed with lung cancer carry an EGFR+ mutation — a biomarker that can open the door to targeted treatment. But most of these patients never receive the biomarker testing that would reveal it, so those options stay out of reach.
The Approach
Leading the campaign creative production, my team and I built Getting Out of the Rough to educate patients on why comprehensive biomarker testing matters in lung cancer — and to get more people asking about it in the doctor’s office. The strategy leaned on celebrity influence to make that conversation feel personal and urgent. My role spanned three areas:
- Website design — I led the creative direction and development of the campaign website, building a home for the episodes alongside resources to help patients navigate a lung cancer diagnosis.
- Integrated marketing — I led the creative direction across every channel we touched: animated and static display ads, organic and paid social graphics, Spotify audio, and a two-page advertorial in PGA Magazine.
- Video production — I led art direction on the production shoots, partnering with a full crew and each celebrity’s team to define the look and feel, scripting, storyline, and shot lists.
The Results
The goal was to raise awareness of biomarker testing among patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Since launching in April 2022, the campaign delivered on it.
The multi-platform paid social effort generated:
77.5M
total impressions
301K
website visits
2.4M
video completions
17%
average engagement rate
0.93%
average CTR
Celebrity amplification proved the strategy right:
- 24% engagement rate — 60% higher than posts from the brand’s own accounts
- 1.40% click-through rate — 51% higher than brand posts
And the work outperformed Tagrisso’s 2021 unbranded biomarker testing campaign on the same channels:
- Facebook engagement rate up 128%
- Instagram engagement rate up 87%
- 1.1M Twitter users watched at least 75% of a video, lifting the engagement rate 50%
Awards
Shorty Awards (15th Annual) — Winner, Pharma & Healthcare
PM360 Trailblazer Awards — Gold, Unbranded Campaign
PRovoke Media North American SABRE Awards — Finalist, Pharmaceutical: Rx
Ragan’s PR Daily Awards — Finalist, Influencer Campaign
