2018 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 on the pebble, calling women respond. The Call Centre Operators were briefed to schedule a free-of-cost consultation appointment for those who enquired. 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.

The main purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness especially among local and Arab women who considered breast cancer a taboo subject. However, the 18,628 pebbles used in the campaign saw a significant increase in response. As the contact number of Medcare Women and Children Hospital was stamped on the pebble, its toll-free call centre saw a spike of 33.3% inquiring about the free breast checks. Besides the number of calls, the hospital also experienced 5,290 walk-in leads which were mostly referred to by the women who had experienced the campaign. Being a hospital that is popular with locals, the campaign was highly effective in being a conversation piece for locals. Adding to this, Imams from various mosques have been requesting for the activation to be run at their place of worship as the cause can save lives.

The entry has a high level of relevancy as it communicates directly to the targeted audience. In this instance, it reached out women on a one-to-one basis and communicated about a taboo subject in a unique way.

To gain attention on the communication, something impactful had to be implemented. The strategy was to use 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.