Here’s how we helped Danes reflect on all the things they can thank their brains for

Here’s how we helped Danes reflect on all the things they can thank their brains for

The motivation to understand how our brains work is most often tied to health or self-improvement. So how can we help a wider audience understand something as abstract, complex, and essential as the human brain…without setting them down in a doctor’s office or an auditorium?

This is the question we asked ourselves when we teamed up with the Lundbeck Foundation to help them develop a campaign for the 2023 Brain Prize. “The Brain Prize exists to support international brain researchers in their work, so it was clear from the start that our work should appeal to this specific audience,” says Client Service Director Anja Bjerregaard Nyvang. “But an equally important goal was to raise awareness and interest among the broader Danish public about the Brain Prize. So we set out to develop a storyline that would make Danes of all ages and interest groups reflect on matters of the brain and inspire them to learn more about the Lundbeck Foundation’s work.”

The result is a campaign centered around the idea that ‘our brain is everything’: we can thank our brains for some of the most significant and relatable aspects of our daily lives, from moving our bodies to having a favorite song and even falling in love.

A peek behind the creative curtain

Concept Developer and Art Director Morten Olsen shares how the team approached the challenge of speaking to a new, uninitiated audience through developing a storyline that is tangible, emotional, and memorable. “We tried to push the campaign in an emotional direction that everybody would understand, even if you’re not interested in brain science,” says Morten. “We did this by focusing on themes that are universal, like music, love, and movement.”

The campaign emphasizes that brain research is not just relevant to those experiencing brain-related medical conditions, let alone certain age groups. “We wanted to show that the brain enables you to experience life in all its phases,” says Morten, “so we created visual representations of the brain as detailed universes inside our heads. We combined sketches of synapses and neurons with illustrations of some of the things that our brains let us think, feel, and do, that ultimately make us who we are.”

Each photo is accompanied by a unique headline and supporting copy which tells the audience how the brain plays a central role in these experiences. The visuals designed for offline channels include more detail, inviting the audience to find themes that they can relate to as they learn about the many functions of the brain.

The campaign was shared on the Lundbeck Foundation website, across social media platforms, on Danish television, on news sites and digital displays, as well as in 4 major Danish newspapers.

Results

Results were measured within two groups: Danes aged 25-60 years, and people in Denmark with a high interest in brain science.

When it comes to the general Danish population, 56% say that they can remember the Brain Prize campaign, and 42% say that the campaign makes them want to learn more about the Brain Prize. In terms of campaign likeability, 48% of Danes express that they like the campaign (equivalent to 1,329,240 Danes) and the audience had a 29% higher interest in wanting to learn more compared to the benchmark measurement for information interest.

More than half of people in Denmark with a high interest in brain science said that the campaign makes them want to learn more about the Brain Prize, and an even higher number say that it makes them feel positive about the Lundbeck Foundation and its work with brain research (52% and 55%, respectively). This is a 34% increase compared to the benchmark measurement for expected brand appeal. Finally, 55% express that they like the campaign—a 24% increase compared to the benchmark measurement for ad liking.

The campaign also succeeded in getting 13,000 Danes to navigate to the Brain Prize landing page from social media—a significant increase compared to the previous Brain Prize campaign, which generated approximately 300 clicks with the exact same media investment.

A cross-agency assignment

When reflecting on the campaign, both Anja and Morten feel proud of the work that they and the rest of the team have delivered. “The client was a pleasure to work with, and it was great to involve so many people from the agency,” says Morten. “From carrying out the strategy to creating animations and finalizing the film, we worked across nearly all departments to bring everything together. I guess you could say we had to put a lot of brains together to make this happen!”

Through emotional storytelling that appeals to a broad audience, the Brain Prize campaign pinpoints that the brain is not just a part of you—it is you.

To learn more about the Brain Prize, click here.