See What Lies Beneath is an experiential exhibition filled with portraits created through a double-overlay effect. Visitors have to use a red filter to view a hidden layer of artwork and text not immediately visible to the naked eye.

The exhibition was created with Novartis to educate the public on the importance of genetic testing for breast cancer patients. The PIK3CA genetic mutation is only revealed through an extra step in the form of a genetic test. By making visitors take an extra step to appreciate our exhibition, we make them understand that extra steps are sometimes necessary.

The PIK3CA genetic mutation is a mutation that affects around 1 in 4 women with breast cancer. Breast cancer patients with the PIK3CA mutation responds poorer to chemotherapy, and may potentially develop resistance to hormone therapy. Getting a genetic test to discover the PIK3CA mutation can help doctors and patients decide on a tailored treatment plan for better outcomes.

However, genetic tests for the PIK3CA mutation are not currently publicly funded. Potential and diagnosed breast cancer patients also have a low awareness of the implications of the PIK3CA mutation, and do not know that taking an extra step to take the test could impact treatment.

We were asked by Novartis to raise awareness of the PIK3CA genetic mutation amongst women in Hong Kong. Key objectives were 1) heightened awareness of PIK3CA and 2) increase in inquiries for genetic testing.

The See What Lies Beneath exhibition centres around the idea that an extra step is not 'extra' – it can be essential to a breast cancer patient's treatment journey.

We created an exhibition where the second look is more important than the first glance, as it reveals a hidden layer of artwork and text not visible to the naked eye. All the artwork is created with a double-overlay effect, and the hidden layer can be seen by using a red filter. The hidden layer includes untold stories from breast cancer patients and information about the PIK3CA genetic mutation.

By making visitors take an extra step to enjoy the exhibition, we want to them to understand that some truths about breast cancer – emotional, genetic or clinical – need more effort to find out.

Our main target audience is women from their late 20s to their early 50s, as they are most likely to be diagnosed patients / become diagnosed with breast cancer.

Our research reveals that most women in Hong Kong are aware of the benefits of early detection, and the campaign space is saturated with information about self-checks. Very few campaigns focus on education beyond self-checks, and genetic mutations are rarely mentioned.

To cut through the noise, we needed to create a campaign that stands out. Most breast cancer campaigns are purely informative, so we created an immersive exhibition where the viewing experience echoes our key message: that an extra step can reveal the truth underneath. We also packaged the exhibition as a trendy lifestyle event, and visitors only understood our campaign messages once inside.

The exhibition was held from 4 to 9 March, 2021. The extended media and digital campaign, including teaser social media posts and post-launch educational activities, was around 3 months in total.

To ensure that our exhibition attracted the target audience, we made sure it resembled a fashionable lifestyle event, rather than a medical exhibit. The exhibition artwork included a local actress, Sofiee Ng, who is popular amongst Hong Kong women, to arouse curiosity amongst female passers-by and draw them to our exhibition.

This was complemented by a digital campaign. We engaged lifestyle media, fashion KOLs and Sofiee Ng to share the event on their social pages, making sure more Hong Kong women would learn about and visit our exhibition. After the exhibition, we had a series of media coverage to educate the public about the PIK3CA mutation.

Media coverage propelled PIK3CA into public consciousness, resulting in 9.5 million impressions (HK population: 7 million)

1,309% increase to dedicated genetic testing website

Since launch, public oncology centres and 50% of Hong Kong oncologists have started arranging PIK3CA tests for patients.

Novartis has expanded this campaign beyond Hong Kong to six other Asian countries: India, Philippines, Turkey, South Africa, Malaysia and South Korea.

And the campaign made a difference to one life: One visitor discovered her own breast cancer after visiting the exhibition.

Most women don't know about the PIK3CA mutation and its consequences. Advanced breast cancer patients are usually unaware that they need to be tested for this mutation until it is too late. Genetic tests are currently not publicly funded, so patients need to pay for this test themselves. This means that breast cancer patients with this mutation who are unaware of, or unwilling to pay for, this extra step of genetic testing are potentially missing out on treatments that can prolong their survival and improve their quality of life.