People with diabetes are grossly underrepresented in pop culture, and patients may try to hide their condition to fit into the rest of society. To promote and celebrate diabetes diversity and inclusion, the Omnipod® team created a campaign that not only provided education about diabetes, but also normalized and showcased it in everyday life. We made the first video game, on the Nintendo Switch, to feature characters with diabetes.

In partnership with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and its Game2Give initiative, we developed “Omnipod Bay.” A new island where players can engage in fun activities such as: exploring a maze, performing in a concert, swimming in the A1 Sea, visiting a café where the foods have carb counts clearly labeled or hanging out at an advocacy partner’s stall.

• Created 19 custom looks for Animal Crossing users to show off their insulin pumps, carry bags meant to represent MDI (multiple daily doses of insulin) users, or don an advocacy group’s swag

• Livestreamed launch via Twitch, featuring Omnipod spokespeople, advocacy partners and diabetes gamer influencers as they explored the island and generated donations to JDRF

Results:

• 9,500+ engagements across diabetes influencer and advocacy social channels

• More than 11 million earned impressions through 39 total placements (six top-tier mainstream) and 4.3+ million social media impressions

• 100% of media coverage was positive and included key messages

• Generated $15,000 in donations to the JDRF with ~242 fundraising event attendees across streams