Feel More Like You podcast
To help cancer survivors find their identity though treatment, I combined clinical oncology advice, expert beauty tips and real survivor stories.
The ask
Walgreens began offering an in-store service for cancer patients: oncology-trained pharmacists and beauty consultants available to help with the physical side effects of cancer treatment, such as hair loss and skin changes. As the health content editor & strategist, I was tasked to bring this expertise to a wider audience on digital channels.
The result
An inspiring 10-episode series filled with 30+ authentic patient stories and dozens of expert interviews streaming on all podcast platforms with an 86% completion rate and 81% subscription rate.
Why a podcast?
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A branded podcast can help brands increase their perception as an expert in that space. Just like our in-store experience, this evergreen content is a service to our customers, available 24/7.
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Podcasts are growing medium—98 million adults regularly listen, 21% of all adults. Global listenership has grown 42% since COVID-19.
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It’s a great differentiator. No other retailer is meeting this audience’s needs in this space. It’s a first-of-its-kind not only for Walgreens, but for our customers.
How it was made
(Research, research, interviews and more research!)
The project was conceived and built in 8 months time. I lead the concept and creation of this project, to ensure we delivered content that:
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Resonated with patients. I interviewed dozens of survivors early on to ensure we would strike the right tone and be useful to her.
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Showcased expertise. I also interviewed top experts in the oncology field—such as surgeons, dermatologists and dentists—and in the beauty field—such as makeup artists, wig experts, medical tattoo artists and more.
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Aligned to business goals. I worked with brand marketing as they formed the in-store program. I attended trainings and toured specialty pharmacies, following the patient journey from diagnosis to remission.
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Turned highly clinical topics into actionable takeaways. Cancer patients are often overwhelmed by the information from their oncology team, but doctors don’t have time to walk through everything. I developed partnerships with our clinical review team of doctors to ensure our content was based in research and answered real questions from real survivors.
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Reached our target audience. I also partnered with our SEO team to ensure we optimized the content based on what our patients are wanting help with.
On-location recording
Boxing class with survivor Csilla, learning how to show cancer who's boss.
Takeaways
Under tight time constraints, I was able to:
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Create a 50-page, high-fidelity script of the entire series, deeply researched and reviewed with legal and clinical alignment
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Study common side effects of cancer treatment and effective ways to find relief
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Understand common gaps between patient needs and doctor objectives
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Identify subject matter experts and their exclusive advice
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Iterate based on multiple rounds of patient feedback
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Cast real patients with relevant stories and experiences for each side effect
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Host the podcast, conduct interviews and write scripted segments
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Learn and execute audio editing via ProTools
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Submit to Apple for approval a week before planned launch
Future state
Last March we were planning to go to CancerCon, but it was moved to a digital-only event because of COVID. Here are mockups of the booth we would've hosted at the in-person conference—complete with live interviews and makeup consultations.