In healthcare research, trust is one of key ingredients of a successful project. This is especially true for sensitive conditions where patients often feel isolated or stigmatised.
For GSK’s Polydent, the challenge was specifically related to denture care. They identified a critical need to connect denture wearers seeking trusted information with peers who had walked the path before them. They didn’t want polished, scripted advertisements; they wanted authentic, “real-life” stories that could offer genuine reassurance.
To achieve this at a global scale without flying film crews to nine different countries, Polydent partnered with Peek, our sister agency specialised in remote direction and content production.
Here is how Peek and Polydent leveraged Field Notes to turn smartphone footage into a broadcast-quality library of patient stories.
The Challenge: Authenticity at Scale
The brief was to create “Chatterbox” (also known as Real Stories), an online platform dedicated to peer-to-peer support for denture wearers.
The logistical challenge was immense: Polydent needed to capture high-quality, compliant video testimonials from a demographic ranging from 35 to 78 years old across 9 markets (including the UK, USA, Brazil, Italy, and New Zealand).
Simply asking participants to “upload a video” wouldn’t work. The lighting would be poor, the audio muffled, and the stories unstructured. To get content that was usable for a public-facing campaign, they needed professional guidance.
The Solution: Expert “Remote Direction”
This is where Peek steps in with its expertise in Remote Direction – a methodology that bridges the gap between self-filmed UGC and professional production, leveraging the Field Notes’ tech capabilities.
1. One-to-One Community Management
Peek didn’t just treat the participants as data points; they managed them as a cast. Through dedicated community management, Peek’s producers built relationships with the 200+ community members, coaching them on how to set up their phones, where to sit for the best light, and how to articulate their stories clearly.
2. Coaching the Narrative
Patients often struggle to know what to share. Peek’s remote directors worked with participants to draw out specific, meaningful moments – from the anxiety of the first fitting to the joy of eating a favourite meal again. This ensured the content wasn’t just “footage,” but a structured narrative that resonated with viewers.
The Impact
The result was Chatterbox, a thriving digital ecosystem that brings “Real Stories” to life.
By utilising Field Notes combined to Peek’s remote direction capabilities, the project successfully:
- Generated 1,000+ pieces of User Generated Content (UGC).
- Engaged a diverse age group (up to 78 years old), proving that with the right direction, technology is no barrier to older demographics.
- Created a library of assets used across a dedicated microsite and YouTube channels to support patients worldwide.
This project proves that “Remote doesn’t have to be distant.” With the right technology and, crucially, the right direction, you can capture cinema-quality human stories from anywhere in the world.
Interested in finding out more about this project? Get in touch with dave@fieldnotes.space or with Peek
