Mariah’s Story Got 120K+ Views, Film Fest Wins & National Impact
We partnered with Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies to tell the story of Mariah Jacqueline Scott, M.S., M.P.H; a 32-year-old scientist, advocate, and mother living with sickle cell disease.
Doctors once told Mariah she shouldn’t have children.
Instead, she turned her fight into a message of advocacy, resilience, and joy, proving that patient voices can change the narrative around chronic illness and maternal health.
This video was a totally new strategy for us of using film festivals to raise awarness for an important cause. It was wildly successfull! Wehad over 100k views and got into multiple festivals. It shows that trying a new and innovative strategy really worked. We’re making more of films in our company!
- Helen Vandebovenkamp
Impact Highlights
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Impact Highlights *
🎥 120,000 YouTube views (and still growing)
🏆 2 Film Festival Wins – Sugar Loaf Film Fest & Access Film Fest
🥇Most viewed video on Terumo’s page
📊 103.8% more views than Terumo’s 2nd highest video
🚀 192.7% higher views than average Terumo video performance (average: 2,242 views)
🌍 Story featured in US News and highlighted at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Sickle Cell Disease Summit
Inspired global conversations around Black maternal health & patient advocacy.
How We Brought the Story to Life
Authenticity: Mariah’s voice drove the story, centered on joy as well as struggle.
Advocacy: Highlighted systemic challenges in Black maternal health, making it relevant to broader conversations.
Emotional Lens: Connected personal narrative to universal themes of hope, motherhood, and resilience.
Amplification: Released across YouTube, LinkedIn, conferences, and healthcare forums, backed by Terumo’s platform.
The Ripple Effect: From Audience Engagement to Policy Influence
Audience Engagement: Viewers across patient communities, clinicians, and advocacy groups praised Mariah’s courage.
Organizational Visibility: Terumo amplified the campaign with a festival wins poster, showcasing thought leadership in patient-centered storytelling.
Policy Influence: The film was presented at the HHS Sickle Cell Disease Summit, organized at the White House, putting patient voices on a national stage.
Cultural Shift: By centering joy, not only pain, the story challenged stereotypes of sickle cell narratives.
What Mariah’s Story Teaches Us About
Storytelling, Advocacy, & Change
This case proves what’s possible when patient stories are told through an emotional, advocacy-driven lens:
Breakthrough engagement far above brand benchmarks.
Cultural and policy influence beyond traditional marketing reach.
Human impact that inspires action and creates lasting change.
