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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.

‘Ladyballs’ had more than 200 campaign components across film, print, radio, digital, social media & events. It launched with film in TV, digital pre-roll and social video. Print and radio executions featuring survivors and their ‘ladyballs’ stories of courage soon followed.

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 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 trade materials were also created for the medical community.

• +22/week = avg increase of donors calls per OCC office; one individual immediately pledged a cc

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

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

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

• +220% = increase in social media engagement since launch, 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 itself, and the resulting success for Ovarian Cancer Canada, was a direct result of the PR from the campaign. In fact, the press coverage itself became a critical storyline for the message.

We identified there was 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.

We wanted to shift ovaries away from medical subject matter to something women feel comfortable talking about openly and engage a wider audience beyond just women diagnosed with the disease.

Ultimately the objective was to create a campaign that could change lives and act as a rallying cry for an unknown disease, the organization and for women everywhere.

Many women are ill informed about ovarian cancer, as 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 to save a woman’s life. With no screening test, vague symptoms and low awareness and understanding, it’s often called ‘the silent killer’: 5 Canadian women die every day.

Other important facts:

-Ovarian Cancer “only” affects ~12,000 women in Canada each year.

-It’s so fatal that we don’t have a large survivor pool in which to draw learning from; 70% of those diagnosed die within 5 years.

-It’s an uncomfortable & often clinical topic that’s overshadowed by other cancers