2017 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Discreetly communicating to local and Arab women on a subject that is taboo in their culture through the use of a unique method in a very unexpected venue.

Creative Execution

The execution involved using pebbles stamped with a simple message. The pebbles were then placed in the shoes of women who went to mosques or prayer halls. When they returned and put on their shoes, the “lump” could be felt immediately and the message seen. The instant reaction to this discovery should ideally be the same when a lump is discovered on the breast. Medcare’s Toll Free number was also stamped calling women respond. The Call Centre Operators were briefed to schedule a free-of-cost consultation appointment for those who called. Discretion was maintained with the use of the pebble to communicate and no taboo was broken. More importantly, some lives may have been saved as early detection of breast cancer has a 98% chance for cure.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

• 8250 pebbles reached women personally at mosques • 33.3% responded by calling the toll-free number • 2480 women came along with their family and friends for checks • 0 taboo broken

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The entry touched on a subject which is taboo in Arab culture. Yet it boldly, effectively and discreetly communicated to the targeted audience in mosques and prayer halls through the use of unconventional activation.

As the initiative was targeted solely on local and Arab women, the strategy was to create communication at a venue that was unique to them. In this instance, they venues were mosques and prayer halls. Special permissions were obtained and the use of space was granted on a goodwill basis with no costs incurred. To gain attention on the communication, something impactful had to be implemented. As a result, the approach was skewed towards using Breast Cancer as an anchor point as it was culturally sensitive and it affected a large number of women in the Middle East. Being early in the year, it was also unexpected as the focus about this disease is traditionally communicated in October. This would therefore create a buzz with higher number of enquiries.