Ovaries were hard to talk about and weren’t top of mind for women from a self-awareness standpoint because, unlike men, women can’t see, touch or feel their gonads.

Women needed a reminder: they had balls too. Ladyballs.

Having Ladyballs was a call to attention against the silent killer as well a testament to the grit, courage and strength it took to battle women’s most fatal disease.

The PR campaign launched with several creative deliverables to support it, including TV, radio and print featuring real survivors and their ‘ladyballs’ stories of courage.

Next, ‘Show us your Ladyballs’ User-generated content activation was deployed in social media, as well as digital and search advertising.

Community outreach and Digital PR efforts brought ‘Ladyballs’ into online conversation during high profile events like the Oscars.

Regional Ladyballs PR events to drive fundraising were launched in cities across the country with local survivors and Canadian celebrities.

‘I have Ladyballs’ docu-interviews with survivors were featured as an ongoing social content series and shared with the medical community.

Ladyballs PR trade materials were created for the medical community.

• +22/week = avg increase of donors calls per OCC office; one individual immediately pledged a record $100,000 upon seeing the campaign. (TIER 3)

• +118% = increase in medical inquiries from women after the campaign launch (OCC By Your Side guide) (TIER 1)

• +20-35% =increase in call volume to regional offices from people who cite ‘Ladyballs’ as reason. (TIER 3)

• +$9 Million = increase in donated media for campaign from broadcast and digital media partners, 98% reach of all Canadians 3X times. (TIER 2)

• +220% = increase in social media engagement since launch (TIER 3) Specifically:

• Twitter impressions increased by 90% from Dec to January (first month)

• Facebook reach increased by 39% from Dec to Jan (first month)

• Twitter engagement rate increased by 26% from Dec to Jan (first month)

• Facebook engagement rate increased by 23% from Dec to Jan (first month)

The creation of “Ladyballs”, the cultural traction and spread of the word, and the resulting success for Ovarian Cancer Canada, was a direct result of the PR from the campaign. In fact, the press coverage itself because a critical storyline for the message in the campaign.

We conducted both qualitative and quantitative research to understand what women thought about ovaries. Findings were clear: They weren’t top of mind, beyond their location on a woman’s body.

We identified there was a lack of directness in communication around “intimate” female topics. Ovarian cancer needed to surpass this uncomfortableness and clinical context in order to be talked about.

To date, when women’s ‘intimate body parts’ are discussed or displayed, it is almost always in the context of objectification. We needed to shift the conversation surrounding ovaries to be more comfortable, meaningful and engaging with women.

Women are ill informed about ovarian cancer. It’s an uncomfortable & often clinical topic that’s overshadowed by other cancers. Many misconceptions exist: 1 in 4 women believe a ‘pap’ smear screens for ovarian cancer.

By the time ovarian cancer is detected, it’s often too late. With no screening test, vague symptoms and low awareness and understanding, it’s often called ‘the silent killer’. It’s so fatal we don’t have a large survivor pool in which to draw learning from; 70% of those diagnosed die within 5 years.

The key objective was to engage a wider online community beyond just women diagnosed with the disease; get people to care about a disease they know nothing about and is silently killing 5 Canadian women every day.

Shift ovaries away from a clinical and medical subject matter to something women feel comfortable talking about openly. Create something “sticky” to permeate culture and get repeated.