The Promise | P&G
Women in the Middle East tend to develop breast cancer an average of 10 years earlier than women in the West. This means early detection is more important than ever. Yet screening rates among young women in the UAE remain low – only 30 per cent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed in the early stages, when survival rates are much higher. It seemed that awareness campaigns were not getting the message through to the women they were targeting.
Creative Solution
We decided to change the conversation by talking to the people women would really listen to: their loved ones. We created ‘The Promise’ – a way for women to know they’re not alone in the fight against breast cancer. We designed two rings – one for the woman, symbolizing a promise to get screened. The other, for a person who loves her, symbolizing a promise to support her, encourage her and be by her side no matter what.
Solution
With zero media budget, our strategy was to harness the power of word-of-mouth. We kicked off the campaign with a stunt/event. We also targeted editors, bloggers, and women’s magazines to help generate PR. Once demand for the rings picked up, we distributed them at various touchpoints around Dubai, resulting in 98,000 promises being made. The campaign spread across the nation and even beyond its borders. But more importantly, thousands of young women learned that early detection isn’t just important for them – it matters to everyone who loves them.