Indian Cancer Society Launched Breast Cancer Bhavishya Campaign

Mumbai: Gone are the days when brands use conventional ways to talk about cancer awareness. National Cancer Awareness Day, which is observed on November 7, witnessed culmination of the digital campaign by Indian Cancer Society – India’s first voluntary, non-profit organization.

National Cancer Awareness Day witnessed culmination of series of interesting activities by Indian Cancer Society
The quirky campaign revolves around Breast Cancer Awareness
One-month long digital influencer campaign talks about horoscope and the future that lies ahead for every woman

Gone are the days when brands use conventional ways to talk about cancer awareness. National Cancer Awareness Day, which is observed on November 7, witnessed culmination of the digital campaign by Indian Cancer Society – India’s first voluntary, non-profit organization. The campaign, launched to mark the Breast Cancer Awareness month, includes a series of activities ranging from quirky video, influencer posts, Insta LIVE doctor interactions to digital ads. The grand pan-India digital campaign witnessed a culmination with a fundraiser concert with singer Sunidhi Chauhan.

The novel campaign, in a quirky way, reminded women of undergoing self-breast examination and detection to keep breast cancer at bay. For this campaign, Indian Cancer Society planned a phased-wise launch with five key activities- Influencer activity (Breast Cancer Bhavishya), standalone video with influencer Kusha Kapila, #StayAbreast with doctors (Instagram LIVE with oncologists), digital advertisements on news portals and lastly fundraiser event. One can buy tickets through BookMyShow to join the musical fundraiser.

The pan-India campaign #BreastCancerBhavishya is based on the context that everybody loves reading horoscopes and many times, it is a reminder about the future that lies ahead. The Breast cancer Bhavishya talks about each zodiac sign and cautions the reader to take care of their health through self-examination and early screening.
A micro-site was created as a part of this campaign- with 12 zodiac signs and its related readings for each sign. The campaign featured women celebrity influencers from different sectors- television actress, models, Instagram influencers etc sharing their zodiac reading on what lies ahead in terms of their health.

Explaining the campaign, Marketing Director of Indian Cancer Society, Shivani Sanghavi said, “The idea was simple. We wanted to bring cancer back in focus as the disease and its progression cannot wait for the pandemic to get over. It’s important to bring cancer back in the conversation and talk about self-examination. Also, we did not want to opt for a conventional way of gyaan. Hence, this quirky way of reminding people that self-breast examination and early detection are the keys to keep cancer at bay.”

Commenting on the campaign, Mr. Naveen Kshatriya, Managing Trustee, Indian Cancer Society said, “Indian Cancer Society is the country’s largest and oldest non-profit in the cancer space. During the month of October, which is breast cancer awareness month, we took a radical digital approach to create awareness about this disease. Statistically, one in 28 Indian women will get breast cancer in their lifetime and it is the biggest cancer affecting women today. We reached out to Facebook communities, Instagram influencers, took the route of display ads, email marketing and a digital concert to spread the message of early detection, diagnosis and treatment. This novel approach is helping us reach and engage a lot more people. We wish to inspire, educate and encourage women to put themselves and their health first.”

A typical horoscope type creative is being shared by the influencers.

The second leg to the campaign is #StayAbreast with the doctors – an Instagram LIVE activity featuring leading oncologists from India. The activity witnessed oncologists being interviewed by Instagram influencers. The oncologists shared realistic views on cancer and the correct way for self-examination. During the LIVE session, the discussion focused on taking care of one’s health and looking out for signs of lumps or growth of lumps.

As a part of the campaign, display advertisement were also put on various news portals of Times group which targeted women pan-India.

The third leg of the campaign witnessed collaboration with popular influencer Kusha Kapila who has 1.4 million followers on Instagram. Sharing more details on the activity, Ms. Sanghvi said, “The standalone video by Kusha Kapila involved a conversation between her and her mother (both roles played by Kusha herself). The activity generated great reach and initiated conversations on social media about the cause. Unlike the live sessions with the doctor, the influencer engagement activity was quirky and less serious so as to get more reach and generate audience engagement.” Here is the link to the video.

Apart from these activities, Indian Cancer Society also mass-circulated an interesting email with a subject ‘World’s most unnoticeable email’. With catchy one-liners, the mass mailer drew an instant comparison between emails that go unnoticed and signs of breast cancer.

Link to the micro-site for breast cancer bhavishya: https://www.indiancancersociety.org/breast-cancer/breast-cancer-bhavishya.aspx