Empowering the Community to Take Control of Ankylosing Spondylitis
/Overview
Cube delivered a targeted digital campaign to reach Australians living with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), empowering them to take control of their condition. The campaign centred around resources and creatives that were needed to fill the gap the community were looking for. This focused on symptom recognition, self-advocacy, and education to drive real behaviour change.
/Challenge
AS is underdiagnosed and frequently misunderstood, particularly by those living with early-stage symptoms. The challenge was to overcome this awareness barrier and motivate a hard-to-reach patient group to reassess their condition and seek better management support.
/Solution
Cube developed an integrated campaign using community insights to educate, identify and support people living with AS.
- Insight-led content development: Created informative content and resources to fill identified knowledge and resource gaps.
- Digital hub: Launched a dedicated website featuring a conversation guide and survey tools designed to prompt self-reflection and encourage action.
- Empathetic messaging: Developed copy that focused on shared experiences and confidence-building to foster a sense of community and support.
- Authentic creative: Co-designed assets with real patients to reflect the lived experience of AS and create meaningful engagement.
- Targeted media strategy: Used paid search and social to reach individuals based on symptom and condition relevance, ensuring the message reached those most likely to benefit.
Impact
Cube successfully delivered a targeted and insight-driven campaign that generated strong digital engagement and prompted meaningful health actions within the community:
Strong online visibility
The disease awareness website rose by 371 positions in Google rankings, attracting over 38,800 sessions and more than 31,000 new users — signalling high interest and discoverability within the target audience.
Above benchmark search performance
Search click-through rate reached 9.57%, well above the 6.44% benchmark—indicating content was both visible and compelling to search users actively seeking information.
High engagement on paid social
Achieved an engagement rate on Meta of 13.69%, with a click-through rate of 1.7%—more than double the 0.83% industry benchmark. These results point to strong creative resonance and audience motivation to act.
Action-oriented outcomes
1,460 Conversation Guides were downloaded—an increase of 22% on a previous campaign—showing users were motivated to take steps toward more informed health conversations.
Meaningful survey participation
1,620 survey completions were recorded, with 97% of respondents living with the condition—demonstrating the relevance of tools designed to deepen understanding and self-identification.
Positive behavioural shift
60% of users indicated they intended to speak to a doctor after visiting the site, pointing to real-world intent and movement toward proactive health advocacy.
TESTIMONIAL
Cube has partnered with Biocelect managing the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine to Australia and New Zealand. The team has worked attentively and collaboratively with Biocelect and the US team in managing the challenging pandemic and vaccine dynamics as they evolve. They have applied their strategic communication, crisis management and media skills to be pre-emptive and agile in preparing for and managing local media and political commentary. They are responsive, professional, a pleasure to work with and, like Biocelect, hardworking!
We brought Cube in as an external agency to support us with a communications initiative for one of our products in 2019. Now – I don’t know what I would do without them! They are no longer viewed as ‘the agency’, but integral to the Novartis team – as partners and strategic advisors. Now working across multiple portfolios, Cube consistently bring their high-level strategic insight, laser focus for detail, and deep expertise across the entire gamut of communications. I would highly recommend Cube to anyone looking for a nimble yet well-rounded agency partner.
In our dealings with Cube over the past 3 years, we have found the team to be very professional, enthusiastic and helpful. Their high level of honesty and integrity means we have full trust in their recommendations and their approach to meeting our needs. Their strategic thinking and recommended plans are always well-considered. They have done high level strategic work for us and developed detailed plans as well as a new service launch. They have been very responsive to our needs and we would not hesitate to engage them again!
MS Australia engaged Cube for two critically important campaigns in the first half of 2022. Their strategic planning and implementation was first-class, and the very significant results has greatly assisted our advocacy work.
For our landmark MS Nurse Care Report launched in Tasmania, Cube crafted a communications plan focussed on local media which as planned, fanned out to outlets across the country. The coverage was astounding and helped raise vital awareness about the role of the MS Nurse in the patient care journey and the need for more funding.
Cube also expertly project-managed a market research study and national communications plan for our Employment & Workplace Survey, launched on World MS Day. This campaign garnered significant media coverage and spotlighted critical issues around employment and MS.
We cannot thank Cube enough for their friendliness, support and compassion for people living with multiple sclerosis.
Working with Cube has been a remarkable experience. Like BeiGene, they are a small team with big ambitions. Time and again, Cube has proven to be an effective, reliable, and responsible partner. They bring enormous energy, detail and innovation to every project and have helped BeiGene achieve the highest goals and meet the tightest timelines. For every idea, they have a solution ready.
We are delighted to work with Cube, whose professional attitude, deep experience and expertise in health communications put them head and shoulders above the competition. In addition to obtaining fantastic coverage for us, we continue to appreciate the attention to detail at every stage from planning through to showcasing the results of our campaigns. Our media strategy, guided by Cube has hit the mark in a judicious approach and fulfilled our strategic purpose.
The Cube team have extensive experience in strategic communications to create impactful campaigns and events and demonstrate a real understanding of our organisation’s brand, objectives, and a broad range of partners and stakeholders. The team are dedicated to and skilful at crafting compelling narratives, securing high-profile media placements, attending to details and navigating through challenges in complex environments.
Collaborating with Cube has been an immensely positive experience. Cube has demonstrated an excellent understanding of our goals and values, ensuring every aspect of the communications plan aligns with GSK’s mission. Their proactive approach in identifying opportunities and potential challenges has been a key factor in the success of our communications efforts. With meticulously planned execution of media engagements, the team’s professionalism, enthusiasm and creativity have exceeded our expectations, making them an indispensable business partner.
