Our work

Arthr:
Home office hunch

Arthr is a social venture on a mission to improve everyday living for people with arthritis by helping them to overcome the everyday challenges the condition creates with greater ease, dignity, and independence. By working with a team of experts in both the healthcare and design industries, Arthr develops sleek, ergonomic products with real people in mind. Diffusion was selected to build brand awareness for Arthr around World Arthritis Day.

Insight & Idea

The pandemic has presented a new and challenging set of circumstances which pose a serious threat to our musculoskeletal health; with remote working becoming standard practice for many businesses, research conducted by Versus Arthritis charity found that the lockdown caused four in five (81%) of desk workers who switched to remote working in lockdown to experience back, neck or shoulder pain.

Our Home Office Hunch campaign was developed as an educational campaign to raise awareness regarding how to safeguard musculoskeletal health whilst working from home. Working with Arthr’s charity partner, Versus Arthritis, the campaign provided specialist advice on what those that are worried about back-pain, shoulder or neck pain caused from working from home should do to help with their musculoskeletal health.

To position Arthr as a campaigning voice for all people living with arthritis, we worked with former Strictly Come Dancing champion Joanne Clifton, who acted as an ambassador for our campaign. Having been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis herself, and initially ignoring doctor’s advice, Joanne was able to speak to the media about how the condition affects her and the difficulties she experiences whilst spending so much time at home during lockdown.

Impact & Action

An integral aspect of the campaign was aimed at eradicating the stigma that continues to surround arthritis and help to educate the general public that the condition can affect anyone, of any age. By working with Joanne Clifton as an ambassador for the campaign, we challenged the common stereotype that arthritis only affects the elderly. We worked with Joanne to share her story through earned traditional and social media, as well as develop tips and advice for those wanting to look after their musculoskeletal health whilst working from home.

The campaign generated 12 pieces of coverage including a range of national hits including Daily Mail, Metro and Daily Express with a total reach of over 121 million.