How Embecta used Diabetes Awareness Month as a springboard for award-winning campaign

Around 537 million adults, or one in 10 people, have diabetes, and that number is only growing. The IDF Diabetes Atlas reports that number will grow to 643 million people by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. 

Not all those people receive the proper access to educational and healthcare resources to live healthy lives. Barriers include income gaps, a person’s background and societal and education level, according to JAMA Network. Solutions are desperately needed to bridge access gaps. 

Diabetes care company Embecta made progress toward that goal with its “All In” campaign. The multi-faceted, multi-month campaign focused on improving access to diabetes education and providing a platform for others to learn.   

Their campaign was connected to World Diabetes Day, November 14, and National Diabetes Month.  

The “All In” campaign tied to the International Diabetes Federation’s (IDF) theme to support the global diabetes community and improve access to diabetes education for both healthcare professionals and people with diabetes. Embecta’s campaign highlighted diabetes resources and brought awareness of the company while elevating their products and resources.  

Sarah Balch, a senior marketing manager who leads global social media for Embecta, said that the campaign focused on providing solutions for people living with diabetes. That is done through Embecta’s educational content they develop as a global leader in insulin delivery devices. 

Balch said that the “All In” campaign moved many needles as it stands for both a rallying cry supporting World Diabetes as well as the grassroots movement championing bringing diabetes patients into a “circle of care.” 

“It’s really a time when communities and companies within the diabetes space really focus on spreading awareness about diabetes, not only treatment options, education, things like that,” Balch said. “It’s also a time when we focus on educating on the signs and symptoms of diabetes so that people who may be experiencing those in need to seek treatment are able to get the testing done and really be able to do that and learn that they have it.” 

The campaign launched on Nov. 1, 2022, with Embecta leaders and key advocacy group partners marking the beginning of National Diabetes Awareness Month. That day, Embecta’s President and CEO Dev Kurdikar rang the opening bell at Nasdaq.  

Balch said that Kurdikar ringing the bell was “really impactful” and set the right tone for the brand’s campaign kickoff. 

“What was really exciting about that is we actually invited partners from community boards and advocacy groups around the U.S. to join us on stage,” Balch said. “So really giving the space, the platform that kind of national visibility to these organizations that are really doing the most work and educating – it was really cool. We had a really strong social media reach that generated from that because we had our agency partners sharing about that. We had Nasdaq sharing about that experience.” 

During the Nasdaq event, Embecta interviewed diabetes advocacy groups about World Diabetes Day and published the content across their social media channels and websites throughout the month, increasing Embecta’s visibility. They also shared behind-the-scenes videos to their YouTube channel. 

Using paid and organic social media posts, worldwide landing pages, banner ads, a toolkit and additional elements, the campaign drove to online resources like the “Getting Started Guide,” a diabetes care app and Embecta’s virtual community.   

“We really focused on social leading the way with this campaign,” Balch said. “We developed (a) hero video and several follow-up assets that basically help direct people to landing pages in a lot of different countries that had guides for how to manage their care.” 

Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, last year, the campaign generated 57,000 organic impressions and 2.5 million paid impressions. The Nasdaq bell ringing generated 52 social posts and Instagram Stories. Content by Embecta generated 40 different social mentions from their partner groups who also posted on their social media channels resulting in a total reach of 2 million people and 269 engagements from users interacting on Nasdaq channels. 

“We received so much positive feedback from people living with diabetes commenting on our social channels. They were so grateful for the support and being to find kind of a community themselves,” Balch said. “By looking outward and listening outward, it really helped inform and impact how we generated and ran this campaign because it really came down to focusing on the community.” 

In addition to helping those living with diabetes, Embecta’s work garnered them an award for Cause Marketing at Ragan’s PR Daily Social Media & Digital Awards in June. 

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com.