the most rational of business decision-makers. Together we created “Breathless Choir”, a film exploring how Philips’ healthcare technology helps individuals with respiratory illness achieve fulfilling lives. And we did it with a level of emotion, authenticity and belief rarely evoked by B2B brands. We enlisted the help of one of the foremost leaders of music – Gareth Malone – already well versed in assembling unlikely groups of people to transform their collective voices. Yet this would be his most difficult challenge – helping people with respiratory problems sing together, like Claire, a cystic fibrosis sufferer, or Lawrence, a 9/11 first responder who lost a third of his lung function, and others with severe breathing issues. It started very gently, some spoken words, a focus on the breath. And with patience, and practice, the group became one. Amazing! After a few days they started to believe in themselves. Finally, they put their belief to the test in a performance at the Apollo Theater in New York City – and the result was breathtaking. No matter who you are, the delight of seeing people exceed their limitations is powerful, and it changes your view of Philips. We needed more than a 30-second spot to tell such a transformational story, and our choice of longer form content drove engagement and online sharing behaviour well above benchmarks across 20+ markets. The Economist, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal and LinkedIn – the business media carried an unusually emotional film for their audience. Authentic and unexpected, “Breathless Choir” showed how Philips innovates differently, how it solves problems around real people, how it thinks and acts as a technology partner, and how it holds a set of human beliefs that touch everything it does.