Market Context

We worked with Cogstate, a leading neuroscience technology company, to identify opportunities to meaningfully shift the way we measure and manage cognition.

The rate of Alzheimer's disease in the U.S. is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050, massively increasing emotional, functional, and financial costs on our communities, families, and healthcare systems. Scientists today have the capability to detect the first signs of cognitive decline, but these capabilities are not deployed in the general population or routinely in primary care settings. Increased early detection can enable earlier intervention, connection to clinical trials, and greater effectiveness of emerging therapeutics. Today, our healthcare system is not designed to support this disease at scale. Change requires substantial shifts to standard care practices and public demand.

Challenge

Identify perceptions around cognitive measurement and decline, and go-to-market insights and adoption requirements for both general public and healthcare audiences.

For the general public, ongoing measurement of brain health is not routine or a known option. Despite widespread adoption of self-serve monitoring tools for other aspects of personal health like wearables, monitoring cognitive health isn’t something most people consider. Our client, Cogstate, is among a small group of leading companies aiming to make ongoing measurement of cognition as commonplace as measuring your heart rate, for the same reason: The more you understand about your brain health, the more you can do to maintain and optimize it.

At the same time, empowering the general population to measure their cognition is only as powerful as our healthcare system's ability to support patients in need of medical support. The U.S healthcare system is notorious for its complexity, slowness to change, and fractured decision-making. For cognition to become a commonplace aspect of health that’s measured in primary care settings, with accelerated pathways to specialists, Cogstate had to consider the full breadth of change requirements.

Solution

Formative conducted a series of research explorations to understand sentiment, desires, needs and barriers to turn regular cognitive assessments into a standard of self-serve and physician-directed care.

1. Lead product testing research with potential early adopters. Cogstate has developed an initial digital tool that uses scientifically validated tests to make cognitive measurement accessible to any person, any time. Formative designed, recruited for, and executed a research program with 40 adults ages 35 - 65 to evaluate sentiment around cognition, early product user experience, and messaging strategies to effectively engage target audiences in product adoption and ongoing use. Participants engaged with the product, completed a series of surveys, and participated in a series of focus groups.
2. Conduct in-market message testing via paid media. We designed and executed message testing research via paid media to assess which messaging and targeting strategies most effectively engaged target audiences in the topic of brain health, cognitive measurement, and self-serve product use. Using a series of low-cost media buys, our team determined messaging tactics by target segment, producing a model for future go-to-market strategies.
3. Design a theory of change, go-to-market, and pilot strategy for healthcare adoption. Cogstate has also developed digitized tests for use in healthcare settings with a robust battery of cognitive assessments and data management capabilities. Formative conducted in-depth interviews with dozens of subject matter experts representing healthcare practitioners, administrators, insurers, and advocates to devise an end-to-end healthcare product and service strategy, where we considered aspects such as insurance coverage, product adoption requirements, change management, communications, and pilot approaches.
4. Elevate brand and leadership voices as thought leaders in an evolving sector. Formative supported brand marketing for Cogstate’s digital product and healthcare solutions, helping them connect to new customer segments. Additionally, our team engaged with the company's CEO to establish a social media communications platform, providing editorial strategy and content for elevating his voice and perspective on trends and priorities within the sector.

Results

Our work has informed client organizational, product, and partnership strategy, all of which guide their active priorities and communications today.