Across the Middle East, 4.7 million women are hearing and speech impaired. Yet there are no breast cancer awareness campaigns targeting them. Emirates NBD, the largest banks in the UAE, is committed to building an inclusive society through its ‘TogetherLimitless’ program. During Pink October the bank needed a campaign to reach this community. But across 300 universally used sign languages covering 140,000 words each, signs for the words ‘cancerous’ and ‘lumps’ didn’t exist. So, Emirates NBD stepped in to create two new life-saving signs – that turned into a life-saving message. Empowering millions in the region on how to self-check.

Despite most organizations launching numerous campaigns highlighting the importance of breast cancer awareness during Pink October, the topic remains a largely taboo subject across the Middle East. As a result of this, many women fail to be open about their symptoms or get routine check-ups, thereby delaying life-saving early diagnosis and treatments.

In this context, it is crucial for breast cancer awareness campaigns to reach more women and help disrupt this social stigma. But for 4.7 million women across the region who are hearing and speech impaired, these messages are even harder to receive. Especially when signs for ‘cancerous’ and ‘lumps’ do not exist across 300 universally used sign languages, each covering 140,000 words.

As Dubai’s largest bank and one that believes in building an inclusive society through its ‘TogetherLimitless’ program, Emirates NBD needed a campaign that spoke to this community. And that meant inventing new signs to save lives.

Situation: Pink October is usually marked by a flood of breast cancer awareness campaigns. Most of these go unnoticed and unimpactful, especially for those who are hearing and speech impaired.

Brief: Emirates NBD, being Dubai’s largest banking institution, has always used its CSR initiatives to empower the community at a macro and micro level. So, when breast cancer awareness month was around the corner, the bank was clear in its stand of creating a campaign that spoke to everyone.

Objectives: The ‘TogetherLimitless’ program was at the forefront of the bank’s commitment to creating an inclusive campaign that broke the barriers of disability. We decided to make this the most exclusive campaign ever, speaking in a language that specifically reached 4.7 million women.

We created the world’s first signs for ‘cancerous’ and ‘lumps’, that didn’t otherwise exist across 300 universally used sign languages. We then launched ‘Life Saving Signs’, a breast cancer awareness campaign that shared life-saving reminders to hearing and speech impaired women, disrupting taboos surrounding breast cancer and educating them on how to self-check. Completely executed in sign language, it was the first-ever silent campaign released on sound-first apps like TikTok and Instagram. Our campaign was heard loud and clear across media outlets and social media as key influencers with significant female followings took to their channels to praise and further spread the campaign’s reach.

In the region, 4.7 million women are hearing or speech impaired. Yet there is no specific campaign to educate them on vital health issues, including breast cancer awareness. Partnering with sign language experts, we analyzed 300 universally used sign languages, covering 140,000 words each, and realized that signs for ‘cancerous’ and ‘lumps’ didn’t exist. In a region where discussing breast cancer is already taboo, the lack of signs made the topic almost impossible to discuss for impaired women. Emirates NBD, one of the largest banks in the UAE, prides itself on inclusivity and through its ‘TogetherLimitless’ program is committed to building a disability inclusive society. So, when Pink October arrived, while most corporates launched numerous campaigns that excluded this community, Emirates NBD launched one that talked to those who couldn’t. By creating the first-ever life-saving signs that didn’t otherwise exist in sign language.

It was the first-ever silent campaign that was released across sound-first apps – completely breaking the format and catching everyone’s attention.

The ‘Life Saving Signs’ campaign was launched organically on Emirates NBD’s Instagram and

TikTok accounts at the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness month – 1st October 2023. It went viral overnight with the most popular influencers reposting it on their channels, and national media outlets covering the campaign within just 24 hours of its release.

With a budget of only US$ 45,000, the campaign gained over 7.3 million social media impressions, a 100% increase in positive brand association and most importantly a huge jump of 47% in mammogram checks with the community.

The campaign achieved maximum success on a very limited budget as compared to other campaigns. It resulted in significant change in awareness and behavior. Prior to the campaign,

40% of women in the UAE had never had a mammogram screening. Following its launch, there was a significant increase of mammograms at affiliated clinics.

Impressions: +7.3m

Positive sentiment for the brand: +100%

Mammogram checks within the community: +47%

Emirates NBD, being the largest banking institution in the middle east, has always used its CSR initiatives to empower the community at a macro and micro level. The bank stays committed to building an inclusive society through its ‘Together Limitless’ program. So, when breast cancer awareness month was around the corner, the bank was clear in its stand of creating an inclusive campaign, made for those isolated by disability.