Parkinsons Awareness

About Parkinson's and health Wellbeing
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Well…its Thursday 11th April…Parkinsons awareness month/day?
Where ,Oh! where is there anything in the public and media advertising or promoting this?
I have been watching the news, reading newspapers, researching on the internet daily this month(as I do every month) and I cannot find anything out in the public eye about Parkinsons awareness??

We really are let down massively by the lack of awareness in the publuc domain…talk about pets,cancers,children,alzeimers etc charities,there are always fund raising stalls in the shopping centres and raffles around…
PD is really the poor relation when it comes to “getting it out there” …

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There is an item on the BBC about someone with young onset Parkinson’s - which seems to be the only thing the BBC ever covers about PD. I realise that this may be a good way to make the public more sympathetic but it gives the impression that older people with Parkinson’s are less important.

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Mike Tindall was talking about his father who has Parkinsons on Good Morning Britain this morning. Then the host Adil Ray was talking about his Mum who also has Parkinsons.

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There was a 2 or 3 minute piece this morning with the PDUK leader being interviewed on Sky News but agree when it comes to charities Parkinson’s really is the poor relation.

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Disgusting ain’t it. There is absolute apathy amongst the media when it comes to PD … what’s the point of having a ‘awareness week’?

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Hi @Hippy and @Singing_Gardener,

I appreciate where you are both coming from and I understand your frustrations towards people’s lack of understanding about Parkinson’s.

As such, we want to make as much noise as possible around the campaign. To do this, there is a range of activity that is running that will also engage lots of different audiences. This includes articles in our magazines and the online version of the magazine, events with MPs, corporate partnership activity, lighting up buildings across the UK, gaining a range of press coverage, and producing follow up films with stars of the campaign. We are also asking people to share what Parkinson’s is to them online using the hashtag #ParkinsonIs to help raise awareness and understanding on the condition.

People affected by Parkinson’s have been involved in every stage of campaign development: from meeting agencies to feeding back on a selection of ideas. The video itself features real people with Parkinson’s of multiple age groups, whose experiences have shaped the final video and the campaign will be running for six weeks.

I hope this provides more clarity on the points you’ve raised.

Best wishes,
Reah

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Hi everyone out there, if you live in and around Hinckley, Leics - Hinckley Parkinsons Group are putting on an event in the Argents Mead area of town tomorrow 13th April between 1.00pm and 4.00pm, call in and listen to live bands all playing free of charge for us in the band stand! We are making a song and dance about it all for awareness week so come along and join us, the more the merrier!!

sheffy

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I agree the awareness of PD is terrible, I didn’t even know if was PD Awareness Day, no wonder we don’t have the money to find a cure!!!

We need to make more people aware of PD and it’s effect on everyday life.

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Hi Reah

Many thanks and respect for your answer … but to highlight a couple of points to my earlier post:

I work(ed) as a college lecturer - the majority of my students had never heard of PD before and have no idea on what it is and what ‘conditions’ can happen. Those that did know thought it was ‘just the shakes’.

‘Local’ advertising and campaigns are good but why not pool all the finances and do an advert for national tv screening … surely that’s the best way to raise awareness … and extra funds maybe.

Respectfully
Hippy.

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Hi @Hippy,

Thanks for your response.

We may do TV advertising in the future, but for now do not have sufficient funds allocated to this area of our work so are focusing our awareness raising efforts on more targeted campaigns. However, we do have a YouTube channel where you can see some of our awareness films that you can share on social media – visit YouTube.com/ParkinsonsUK

As an existing supporter of Parkinson’s UK, you may not see advertising from us for the ‘Parkinson’s Is’ campaign. This is because our video adverts will be carefully targeted to certain people.

The campaign is aimed at new audiences for Parkinson’s UK who aren’t impacted by the condition. This will help connect even more people to Parkinson’s. We’re aiming to increase awareness that Parkinson’s is serious in a younger audience (aged 25 - 44 years old), who spend a lot of time online. We’re also targeting more traditional charity supporters (aged 45+), who are likely to engage with charity campaigns. These audiences have been chosen as our research shows they are open to supporting us.

However, you will still see content supporting the campaign on Parkinson’s UK’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn) and stories placed by our media team in the press.

Best wishes,
Reah

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Please can anybody point me in the right direction to find something/anything relating to the raising awareness campaign. I was worried about how it was going to portray people with Parkinson’s but raising awareness is sorely needed. I have, however, looked and looked and apart from the headline ‘advert’ with a few facts about Parkinson’s, I still can’t find anything related to raising awareness on social media, or any other media in fact. I saw one article on the news relating to early onset Parkinson’s but that’s about it.

Friends and family that I’ve spoken to remain blissfully ignorant of any campaign and my workplace remain convinced that other conditions which people are struggling with, all of which have far higher media profiles than Parkinson’s, are serious while I continue to be perceived as having something slightly embarrassing. I’m advised that I ‘look well’ and my social activities are frequently commented on: apparently it is notable that I am ‘still able to have a social life!’. My Parkinson’s should seemingly be mentioned as little as possible and should be referred to as my ‘condition’ if it has to be referred to it all. I’ve offered to talk about it but have been advised that my manager will ask me ‘if’ she wants to know; she’s never asked. Some higher profile raising awareness by organisations such as Parkinson’s UK could really help.

Most of the stuff I can find seems to be promoting the search for a cure and encouraging new members and fundraising. This is all obviously really important but it’s not the same as raising awareness of what it’s like to live with Parkinson’s. I am, however, a total luddite when it comes to social media so I may well have missed something.

TV advertising is clearly expensive and I do understand that the reason that some activities are no longer running is because they cannot be justified in terms of value for money, but it would be interesting to know what the spending priorities currently are because if raising awareness is a priority in its own right (not as a tag on to a marketing campaign) then surely it’s going to require some funding if it’s to get beyond the selected few currently being targeted. Surely a high profile campaign should be visible?
J :-/

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Hi @Jackson,

People with Parkinson’s have told us that the public don’t understand them, and we know from our own research that people don’t see Parkinson’s as serious. Therefore, for 2019, Parkinson’s UK is focussing on raising awareness and understanding of Parkinson’s and us as a charity in the UK and our message must be heard loud and clear and connect even more people to Parkinson’s. To do this, ‘Parkinson’s Is’ marks a shift in the way we look and sound. We’ll talk about Parkinson’s differently, to make the public sit up and listen. The campaign will be authentic, showcasing people with Parkinson’s sharing their own experiences of living with the condition.

As mentioned in my previous comment, we’re aiming to increase awareness that Parkinson’s is serious in a younger audience (aged 25-44 years old), who spend a lot of time online. Therefore, this may be the reason why you haven’t seen our campaign online.

We want to make as much noise as possible around the campaign. To do this, there was and will continue to be a range of activity that is running that will also engage lots of different audiences. This includes articles in our magazines and the online version of the magazine, events with MPs, corporate partnership activity, lighting up buildings across the UK, gaining a range of press coverage, and producing follow up films with stars of the campaign. We are also asking people to share what Parkinson’s is to them online using the hashtag #ParkinsonIs.

With that being said, we understand that not everyone is on social media which is why we chose this as a simple way for the Parkinson’s community to support the campaign, as it’s a good way to spread the message very far and wide. However, everyone can play a part in helping the public realise that Parkinson’s is a serious condition. We can all spread the message as far and wide as possible - whether that’s sharing the campaign on social media, putting up posters in local cafes, pubs and businesses or talking to your local newspaper.

To answer your question about spending priorities, in total we have spent £395,000 between buying the advertising placements (£320,000) and creative production (£75,000). We will continue engage with these audiences throughout 2019 and beyond. We plan to continue to build their understanding, to bring them closer to Parkinson’s UK and ask for their support. Whether that’s financial, taking part, or sharing our message on social media.

I hope this has answered your questions; however, if you have any further questions please email our marketing team at [email protected] or call 0800 652 8978.

Best wishes,
Reah

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Hi Reah,
Thank you for your reply.
I still don’t understand the whole thing - I don’t know if you mean that the campaign is only being aimed at raising awareness of Parkinson’s as a serious condition for certain age groups; or possibly that certain age groups are being targeted in terms of marketing? Seems odd to me, but maybe I’m just being seriously dozy.

I appreciate the information regarding the money being spent on this campaign however it only makes sense in terms of priorities if I can compare it to spending on other priorities. I know spending is carefully thought out and planned in relation to the strategy, but I can’t find any current information so I’m just curious really. I don’t sleep much :-/ - not surprisingly - and I’ve stopped eating and spending in the early hours but I seem to have replaced these behaviours with endlessly researching things (blame good old Parkinson’s).

I was hoping (possibly a little selfishly) for something that would have a positive impact on my life with Parkinson’s in the here and now, and I could see how raising the wider public’s understanding and acceptance of people with Parkinson’s and life with Parkinson’s for those with the condition and those close to them could have an impact for so many of us living with Parkinson’s today, but if my manager and colleagues and friends and neighbours, and so on, don’t/can’t access the campaign because they aren’t the target audience, nothing will change.

I may be a bit older than PUKs target audience (I now feel quite old :-s) and I admit that I’m not that interested in using social media, but that’s not because of my ancient years, I just prefer talking to people :-s.

I guess I was looking for a link to the campaign or was hoping that somebody else would share what they’ve found so that I could have a look at it?

I’m still confused as to whether it’s a primarily a marketing campaign or a genuine raising awareness campaign but anyway, I’ll have another look then maybe e-mail the marketing team again.

Thanks again for replying - I know I can be a pain so it’s genuinely appreciated.
J

Sorry - no idea how many times I’ve sent this, lost it then found it then lost it … apologies if there end up being multiple copies.

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Hi @Jackson,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I think the best thing to do would be to contact our marketing team with your questions. Also, you can view the campaign here - https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/parkinsons-is.

Do take care.

Best wishes,
Reah