What was the purpose of Boehringer Ingelheim's Art Basel activation?

The activation was designed to raise awareness of chronic kidney disease and emphasize the importance of complete testing and early diagnosis through the It Takes 2 campaign.

Why was Art Basel chosen for the It Takes 2 activation?

Art Basel was chosen because it brings together art, music, design, and thought leadership while attracting a large audience, including many people over age 45, an at-risk age group for chronic kidney disease.

What was the centerpiece of the Art Basel activation?

The centerpiece was an interactive pledge wall designed to resemble a digital street art mural.

How did attendees interact with the It Takes 2 activation?

Attendees created street art-style tags as symbols of their pledge to talk to their doctors and get tested. Each tag was then incorporated into the digital mural.

What did attendees receive after creating a street art-style tag?

Each participant received a sticker featuring their customized street handle. The campaign-branded takeaway also included a QR code linking to the It Takes 2 website so the resource could be shared with family, friends, and communities.

Art Basel

It takes two to make a thing go right
It takes two to make it outta sight

Little did New York City hip-hop duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock anticipate their 1988 hip-hop single would become the inspiration for a campaign to combat chronic kidney disease (CKD), but at Miami’s Art Basel, Boehringer Ingelheim launched an activation that emphasized the importance of complete testing for and early diagnosis of chronic kidney disease.

Introduced in 2023, the program began as a call to action for adults at risk for CKD to better understand that it takes two people (you and your doctor) and two tests (urine and blood) to help detect kidney disease.

Why Art Basel?

Art Basel is renowned for its intersection of art, music, design, and thought leadership, using creative execution to produce an amazing experience and propel real-world impact. Art Basel draws a large crowd of 75,000 at the Miami Convention Center and up to 50,000 in the surrounding area, with nearly half over age 45, the at-risk age group.

Part of the “It Takes 2” mission is to show up in unexpected places and create experiential touchpoints.

Leveraging street art, the centerpiece of the activation is an interactive pledge wall that resembles a digital street art mural.

The audience can create a street art-style tag as a symbol of their pledge to talk to their doctors and to get tested.

Each tag was then incorporated into the digital mural, inviting passersby to make a personal commitment to CKD testing.

Each “tagger” received a sticker with their customized “street” handle — a takeaway to initiate conversations with their doctors and advocate for their health. These stickers were printed on campaign-branded takeaways that featured a QR code linking to the It Takes 2 web so the resource can be shared with families, friends, and communities.

I wanted to take a moment to share a huge THANK YOU for all the work (and sweat!) that went into such an amazing activation! From the initial concept to the incredibly organized run of show to the creative execution and in-person staffing – everything was flawless in my opinion. The countless anecdotal stories that we heard really gave me a sense that we were helping to educate people on such an important topic.

I can’t wait to share the more detailed report with the team here. Thank you again for making the final It Takes 2 event such a success!

Mark Bennett

Senior Associate Director, Human Pharma Communications USA, Corporate Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corporation