Raising Stroke Awareness & fundraising

Challenge

Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner, who lost his mom, Phenia Mae, to a stroke, reached out to Virginia Mason Franciscan Health as a volunteer, to honor her memory, by raising awareness of the F.A.S.T. protocol, and funds for stroke patient care.

Approach

Playbook led an all-star creative team to build a graphic novel featuring Bobby cast as a Superhero in a Comic Book called FAST54. In the book, Bobby saves the life of a fan with signs of a stroke - but it is not his superhero powers that save the day – because you don’t need superpowers to “Know the Signs” of a stroke, then “Read & React”.

The campaign utilized a multi-faceted approach to reach a broad audience, including a presence at the Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC). At ECCC 24’, an engaging booth offered 25,000 free comics (thanks to a partnership with Smartwater), and a panel discussion "Cause Comics: Using Storytelling to Save Lives" featured Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Chief Strategy Officer Thomas Kruse, Herø Projects Founder Matthew Medney, and former Marvel Creative Director Jim Krueger.

Results

FAST54 was embraced by the fans and media, generating over 250K social engagements since the September launch, and raising $300K+ for the Phenia Mae Fund at VMFH. More importantly, kids of all ages are learning the F.A.S.T. protocol for stroke awareness, which will help save lives and provide better outcomes for stroke victims for years to come.