31% of Italian women do not know about self-examination, one of the main preventive gestures in the fight against breast cancer. We therefore put the spotlight on this gesture by "hacking" a moment as “sacred” as the national anthem. Audiences in the stands and at home could view the movements of self-examination. And thanks to the social media campaign behind the event, we provided video tutorials with the correct gestures, stimulating numerous UGCs.

5,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in Italy. 12,500 lose their lives. Prevention is key to receiving an early diagnosis, and self-examination is an effortless way to monitor one's body. Yet, 31% of Italian women do not know this.

Europa Donna Italia, an association that spreads awareness about prevention in Italy, was looking for a way to remind people nationwide of the importance of self-examination. But with no media budget, an unconventional idea was needed. To capture national attention with a simple gesture, prompting a discussion around the importance of self-examination in the fight against breast cancer.

During the anthem before an international match, the Italian women's national rugby team did not just bring their hands to their hearts as usual. But they took the opportunity to perform a symbolic and unexpected breast self-examination as a reminder of the importance of prevention in the fight against cancer.

A video-hero was then created to tell the story of the initiative. It was posted on the social media channels of two leading organizations: Europa Donna Italia and Federazione Italiana Rugby.

The news was spontaneously taken up by national media and by prominent online newspapers, which praised the national team's idea and commitment.

On social media, the players became ambassadors, with tutorials on proper self-examination.

The main target audience is women 25 years and older. It is crucial that prevention habits start early, since mandatory screening in Italy starts at age 50.

The media planning consisted of the Anthem moment just before the match in Barcelona, it was picked up by announcements by press releases.

Then, storytelling of the initiative on social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) of the two leading entities, with release of tutorials by players who became our influencers. This drew spontaneous attention by major Italian media and online publications.

No media sponsorship was planned, only organic publications.

The goal was to bring self-examination into the spotlight, because it is alarming that 31% of women in Italy do not know what it is. And there is nothing that grabs more attention for Italians than a sporting event involving a national team.

During the national anthem of the match Spain vs Italy, the Italian women's national rugby team brought their hand to their heart and performed several breast self-examination movements, arousing the curiosity of the spectators at the stadium and those watching the match on TV.

Then, a video-hero was posted on the social media profiles of Europa Donna Italia and the Italian Rugby Federation to raise awareness on the initiative. Several national team players became ambassadors making tutorials for proper self-exam. These videos generated UGCs where people replicated the same gestures, using the campaign hashtag #nelsegnodellaprevenzione.

Since the initiative took place in Barcelona in February, it had coverage also in Spain thanks to a local broadcaster tv.

While in March and April, the video-hero and tutorials were launched on social capitalizing on the hype of the Six Nations Championship.

Since the campaign was purely organic, there were no KPI's discussed in the briefing phase with the client. However, with an average budget of zero, we reached over 40 articles in the national press.

We reached more than 10 million people; over 40 thousand users shared, commented and interacted via likes and saves of the published content. As calculated from the average profile views of Europa Donna and the Italian Rugby Federation, the impact is evident through an increase of 240% in views.