Rethink Breast Cancer: Give-a-care [image] 4

Credits & Description:

Entrant: Lg Toronto
Brand: Rethink Breast Cancer
Corporate Name of Client: Rethink Breast Cancer
Account Manager: Taylor Johnston/Chloé Gascon/Alexandre Normand
Account Director: Krista Findlay/Antoine Levasseur
Agency: lg Toronto
Creative Directors: Chris Hirsch/Nellie Kim/Claude Auchu
Digital Creative Director: Jennifer Varvaresso
Digital Planner: Meg Siegel
Copywriter: Ariel Riske
Art Director: Zachary Bautista
Production Company: lg2fabrique, Montreal
UXD: Joël Auchu/Nicholas Baldovini
Graphic Designer: Élise Cropsal
Synopsis:
For years, campaigns have spoken to women about the prevention and detection of breast cancer. But what do you say to a woman who has just been diagnosed? During our discussions with over 500 young women undergoing treatment, they spoke to how isolating it can feel when people don't know how to talk to you anymore. How flowers, balloons, and mind-numbing optimism do nothing to help. And how they were sick of being treated like “a sick person” and desperately just wanted to be understood.
In September 2016, we launched The Give-A-Care Collection: The first line of products for young women with breast cancer, that actually understands young women with breast cancer.
So much more than just a product line, the Give-A-Care Collection bridges the communication gap between her supporters by raising awareness of what she’s really going through while improving her quality of life with real, tangible product benefits.
Available exclusively at www.giveacare.ca, supporters can build a custom care package, with products like lemon candies that mask the metallic taste of chemo, or a zip-front hoodie that’s easy to get on and off after surgery.
All 22 items tap into unique insights, helping to treat both the physical and emotional side effects of treatment. But more than just gifts she actually needs, each product and online description are written in a way that offers a glimpse into her experience. With products such as the “I-don’t-want-to-have-this-conversation-either-but-it’s-too-late-I-already-made-the TEA”, the “If-I-barely-understand-what-my-doctor’s-saying-what-do-I-tell-my CHILDREN’S BOOK”, and the “If-one-more-person-tells-me-that-at-least-I-don't-look-sick-I-may-never-get-rid-of-this HEADACHE BALM”, the collection creates awareness while offering comfort.
Each product under the Give-A-Care brand was developed and designed from scratch, with icons crafted by hand. This same handcrafted aesthetic and attention to detail were translated into the website, the packaging itself, and all campaign materials. From conception to execution, the project has been praised as a welcome change from the usual clichés, standing out in a sea of pink. Breathing life into an often somber category, it feels young, fresh, and anything but clinical.
Originally tasked with getting a pamphlet into the hands of young women, the information was rewritten and redesigned into a booklet that covers important topics like premature menopause, breast reconstruction, fertility preservation, and financial resources. As many doctors have never treated a younger woman with breast cancer, their needs are often not discussed until it’s too late. This booklet translates "doctor talk" into easy-to-digest information, opening the door for conversations to get real, and for women to get the care they really need.
Truly a campaign for social change, the collection created a whole new product category for this niche group of women who had otherwise been lacking the necessary support. And with all products and media generously donated, a business model was created that cycles 100% of funds from supporters to patients, and back to the charity to further advance their work.
While the campaign doesn’t have any obvious direct competition, the product line is competing with flower shops, hospital gift shops, stores that carry greeting cards or balloons, and practically anywhere someone could get a gift for someone who is dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Give-A-Care solves a problem that most supporters didn’t even realize existed; flowers can put her at risk of infection and trigger emotional distress when they die; balloons made of latex or plastic can trigger allergic reactions and interfere with hospital machinery; chocolates and sugary sweets should be eliminated from her diet as they can feed cancer cells; many creams and products found in gift baskets have parabens, aluminum, or scents she may be adverse to; whereas the collection offers practical gifts that actually help her through treatment in place of disposable, and sometimes insensitive, gift shop trinkets.
From the product launch at a PR media breakfast to the dozens of evergreen social posts that were developed for each product in the line, the roll-out of this campaign was truly integrated into our target’s lives. There were wild postings and billboards around Toronto where our core target lives, full-page ads in national newspapers, morning show coverage in Canada and the US, ambassadors who had been personally affected by breast cancer, video content, and user-generated content.
The collection has received an overwhelmingly positive response from the breast cancer community, many citing this project as ground-breaking, refreshing, and sorely needed. Several survivors have even said they wished it existed when they were undergoing treatment, which has been echoed by others wishing it existed while their loved ones were alive. Supporters have also anonymously donated to the campaign, sending over 400 additional packages to newly diagnosed women.
What began as an awareness campaign has turned into a permanent and expanding product line, with ongoing interest from several high-profile US and Canadian retailers looking to partner and carry the initiative forward.