Patient stories: truth and consent in testimonial videos

Anything a brand says about itself is less convincing than what someone else says about it. That is where testimonial videos get their power. In healthcare, though, these videos need more care than anywhere else. The patient stories we filmed for Memorial and Rememore shaped how we approach them.

Which videos?

For Memorial we made "Thank You Doctor", a campaign film in which patients thank their doctors. For Rememore we made testimonial videos in which patients from different countries talk about their experience of cosmetic surgery, hair transplants and breast augmentation.

Consent comes first

Health data is among the most sensitive personal data there is. The GDPR in Europe and KVKK in Türkiye give it special protection. A patient needs to give explicit written consent to appear on camera, and that consent should cover where and for how long the video will be used. We also tell patients they can change their mind at any time.

No script

We do not give patients lines to say. We prepare questions instead: Why did you decide on this treatment? How did you feel on the first day? What do you think now? Patients answer in their own words. In the edit we may shorten sentences, but we never change their meaning.

A relaxed setting

Talking to a camera is not easy for most people. Before we shoot, we talk to the patient without the camera, keep the crew small and never rush. When people relax, what they say becomes more genuine.

In their own language

In the Rememore videos, patients come from different countries. We prefer everyone to speak in the language they are most comfortable in. Subtitles let the video reach viewers in other countries.

Experience, not promises

A testimonial should never guarantee a result. Every patient's experience is their own. So we build these videos as stories of one patient's journey. Ad platform rules on health content support this approach too. We wrote more about it in our post on health tourism ads.

Using them in PR

A well filmed patient story is valuable beyond social media. With the patient's consent, it can be part of a story prepared for the press. For journalists it is far more interesting than an institution's own statement.

You can watch the videos on our work page and read about our other healthcare films in our Memorial post. For testimonial videos and PR for your brand, visit our PR and communications page.