It became clear that music and dementia was an area which showed positive results linked to playing music and this was backed by research at Casio HQ in Japan. This direction was taken in looking at how playing music can impact those living with dementia and although a scientific study couldn’t be conducted, there was an opportunity to explore a ‘lived experience’.

This ‘lived experience’ study saw playing the keyboard being integrated into a care plan for dementia. The LK-S250 was crucial because of how easy it is for anyone to play by following the lighted up keys, and the study followed participants with dementia across 50 care homes nationwide. To integrate the LK-S250 into a care plan, a partnership was formed with Music for Dementia and care provider MHA, to execute the study in their care homes. The project took place in specialist dementia care homes over six months with Casio providing keyboards for music therapy sessions. Over 100 residents participated. 

After the six months, a questionnaire was developed to discover what differences the music therapists, care home managers, friends and family, as well as the participants with a capacity to answer, noticed in the residents. The results were incredible. A key finding revealed that the residents displayed improved signs of memory recall. Respondents agreed that playing the keyboard increased opportunities for social interaction and it was reported it reduced stress/anxiety amongst the participants. The findings were turned into a report, which was then revealed to the media with a landing page created as the call to action to download it. The report was strategically launched during World Alzheimer’s Month (September), as this was a key moment to gain the most traction from media. 

As well as launching the report, emotive case studies were identified and guest editorial was secured across target media. Influencers who had experienced dementia in some way through friends or family, were also targeted to support the report.