In an effort to educate the public on the science and treatment of alcoholism, Cephalon, Inc. and Alkermes, Inc., the companies that introduced the first and only once-monthly injectable medication for the treatment of alcohol dependence, launched LIVE outside the bottle in April 2007. This multi-faceted campaign was designed to educate the public that alcoholism is a chronic, treatable disease and encourage those who may struggle with alcoholism to seek help from a doctor.  The main call-to-action for the campaign was an award-winning online experience, www.LiveOutsideTheBottle.com. Rosetta, a pioneer in the field of personalized marketing, was recognized for their exceptional design and layout of this site, receiving the 2007 WMA WebAward for Best Health Care Web site.

LiveOutsideTheBottle.com is a user-friendly resource for the public to obtain important information about alcoholism, including an online screening tool to uncover potential alcohol problems and an online physician locator.  By entering their zip code, visitors were given a printable list of physicians in their area that specialize in treating alcoholism.  Due to the persistent stigma and embarrassment associated with the alcoholism, the online experience has proved to be a valuable tool for those people who wanted to learn about alcoholism in the privacy of their own home.

As an important component of the national educational initiative, The LIVE outside the Bottle Web site was another vehicle to increase public awareness of alcoholism as a medical condition and educate people that it can be treated through a combination of therapy and medication.  The site includes an overview on alcohol dependence along with a link to a virtual tour of the traveling museum-quality exhibit that was the centerpiece of the campaign.   Through this virtual tour, online visitors can take a look at the evolution of alcoholism in America, with a focus on the physical and social consequences, the stigma associated with the disease along with genetic and scientific explanations and current treatment options. 

The physician locator tool has become an important and popular resource for visitors to the site. “Since the launch of the site, more than 50 percent of the site visitors have accessed the tool,” noted Paul Donovan, senior account manager at Rosetta. “Almost two-thirds of site visitors have reported that they are likely to speak with a physician about medical treatment for alcoholism.”

 “The LIVE Outside the Bottle online resource is a large part of overall efforts to make a meaningful difference in the treatment of alcohol dependence,” said Karen McCollum, a communications manager at Cephalon. ”One of the goals of the campaign was to drive those impacted by this disease to seek help from a physician and the website has certainly been a valuable tool in helping us meet this objective.”

In particular, the site was recognized by the WebAward judges for its user-friendly tools including a physician locator tool and an alcoholism screener that asks visitors to answer a set of questions and indicates whether or not a person may have a problem with alcohol dependence.

A critical element to the success of the online experience was the seamless integration with the LIVE outside the bottle campaign. The centerpiece of the campaign was a touring interactive, multi-media exhibit, called LIVE outside the Bottle: The Story of Alcoholism in America, which visited various venues across the country, including health expos, college campuses, malls and community events.  To date, the exhibit has toured 12 cities nationwide to educate the public at the regional level about alcoholism, to help uncover whether they or a loved one might have a problem with alcohol.  At the exhibit, people were encouraged to visit the website to find a local doctor that specializes in the treatment of alcoholism.

BioSector 2, a public relations firm based in New York, and Resolution 3D, a web development agency based in Anchorage, Alaska, also contributed to the development of the site.

In addition to the Web site, the campaign included a toll-free number 1-800-LIVE OUT(1-800-548-3688), which people can call for additional resources for the disease.

Cephalon, Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company, and Alkermes, Inc., a biotechnology company, in conjunction with their agency partners, including Rosetta, aim to help raise awareness about alcoholism as a serious, chronic disease, and its treatment with both medication and counseling through educational initiatives like LIVE outside the bottle. For more information about Cephalon or Alkermes, please visit www.cephalon.com or www.alkermes.com.