Tackling stigma and driving hepatitis C testing and treatment
Gilead Sciences – Are you Chris? (Bist du Chris?)
The challenge
Many people living with hepatitis C were unaware of their infection and stigma meant most didn't see themselves as 'at risk'. In Germany alone, around 250,000 people were living with the disease, approximately half of them unaware of their status. Gilead wanted to raise awareness in an authentic and empathetic way, encouraging people with possible past exposures to talk to a doctor and get tested, without triggering the defensive reactions that stigma-led health communications so often produce.
The insight
The barrier wasn't awareness of hepatitis C, it was the assumption that it couldn't be you. Stigma operated on two levels: self-stigma, where people couldn't see themselves as 'at risk', and social stigma, where the fear of being judged made taking action feel impossible. Traditional health messaging addressed neither. The key was to create a character ordinary enough to be anyone — not a cautionary tale, not a medical case study, but a recognisable, relatable person that audiences could quietly see themselves in, while simultaneously normalising testing as something that everyday people do. That was Chris.
What I did
I was strategic and creative lead on this integrated campaign from initial PR and behaviour change strategy through to execution and measurement. I shaped the insight, positioning and audience strategy behind Are You Chris? — including defining the role of 'Chris' as an every-person character that people could recognise themselves in without feeling judged or labelled. I mapped the audience journey from awareness to self-reflection, action and advocacy, and designed a surround-sound approach across PR, social media, creative, media and digital web-build to normalise testing and treatment. I worked with creative partners on the campaign platform, channel mix and measurement framework, and led delivery throughout.
The impact
The campaign achieved very high reach and engagement in its pilot market — Germany — significantly increasing awareness of hepatitis C risk factors and prompting people to seek information, complete an online risk checklist and talk to healthcare professionals. It won a Gold SABRE Award for DACH/EMEA 2018 and was a finalist at the Communiqué Awards for Excellence in Public Health Communications, recognising both its creative effectiveness and its measurable public health impact.