An increasing number of British Columbians are taking on the role of managing their family’s health. With an estimated 800,000 without a family doctor and limited options for care on evenings and weekends, many B.C. residents are likely in search of a new way to access primary care support.
In the fall of 2019, TELUS engaged The PACK― a NATIONAL Public Relations and Cohn & Wolfe collective ― to help drive further awareness and consideration of their virtual care service, Babylon by TELUS Health that launched in March 2019. Delivered through a smartphone app, the service offers real-time video consultations with locally-licensed physicians and an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered symptom checker that’s available 24/7.
With a phased roll-out beginning in B.C., The PACK was tasked post-launch with maintaining the momentum of Babylon by TELUS Health as another option for accessing timely, quality care to the following core audiences: British Columbians who need after-hours care and those without access to a family doctor.
To best resonate with TELUS’ target audiences, The PACK partnered with eight B.C.-based influencers who could speak candidly about their experiences managing personal and family health. From a professional BMX bike rider to the ultimate working mom and television personality, Jillian Harris, the influencers demonstrated Babylon by TELUS Health’s value in a world where accessing care, especially outside of traditional clinic hours, is becoming increasingly difficult.
Published on Instagram, the posts addressed everything from the challenges of juggling family demands during flu season to finding health support in remote areas. Custom links that drove directly to a landing page to download the app were developed to closely track the impact of each influencer’s content at every point of the funnel. A robust paid strategy, which included a Facebook Brand Lift study, was also leveraged to maximize results and obtain valuable feedback on campaign progress.
Thanks to a strategic selection of influencers known not only for having highly engaged audiences, but also for their exceptional storytelling skills, program results far exceeded the KPIs established at the beginning of the campaign. But most importantly, the content served as a catalyst for an important conversation on health management, self-care and the benefit of digital health solutions as complementary tools in primary care, supporting good health. Many users opened up about how difficult it is to prioritize health in a rapidly changing world, while others expressed gratitude towards the influencers for introducing them to this valuable service.
This program continues into 2020 as Babylon by TELUS Health becomes available in other provinces across Canada.