Discreetly communicating to local and Arab women on a subject that is taboo in their culture through the use of a unique method at a very unexpected venue.

The execution involved using pebbles stamped with a simple message. The pebbles were then placed in the shoes of women who went to mosques or prayer halls. When they returned and put on their shoes, the “lump” could be felt immediately and the message seen. The instant reaction to this discovery should ideally be the same when a lump is discovered on the breast.

Medcare’s Toll Free number was also stamped on the pebble, calling women to respond. The Call Centre Operators were briefed to schedule a free-of-cost consultation appointment for those who enquired.

Discretion was maintained with the use of the pebble to communicate and no taboo was broken. More importantly, some lives may have been saved as early detection of breast cancer has a 98% chance for cure.

• 18628 pebbles reached women personally at mosques

• 33.3% responded by calling the toll-free number

• 5290 women came along with their family and friends for checks

• 0 taboo broken

The entry has a high level of relevancy as it communicates directly to the targeted audience through the use of a highly cost effective media. In this instance, it reached out women on a one-to-one basis and communicated about a taboo subject in a unique way.

To gain attention on the communication, something impactful had to be implemented. The strategy was to use Breast Cancer as an anchor point as it was culturally sensitive and it affected a large number of women in the Middle East.

Being early in the year, it was also unexpected as the focus about this disease is traditionally communicated in October. This would therefore create a buzz with higher number of enquiries.

The Middle East today is progressive and is on par with many nations around the world in terms of development. However, values, especially from religious and cultural aspects remain conservative. Some subjects even to this day continue to be taboo.

As a healthcare service provider, Medcare Women and Children Hospital wanted to raise awareness on the importance of health check, especially amongst local and Arab women.

The objective of this initiative was simple: While some health conditions may be taboo to talk about, there should not be any taboo for checking.