This brand experience ran for 6 weeks. As the UK’s first WhatsApp drama series, The Chat was an immersive experience, with 1250+ pieces of content, engaging women aged 40-50 where their most intimate conversations happen – through WhatsApp on their phones.

This immersive activation tackled taboo topics, taking consumers on a journey as the drama unfolded. With Breast Cancer Now’s support woven into the narrative, the audience discovered the charity alongside the characters, who frequently shared links from breastcancernow.org.

This groundbreaking storytelling device empowered people to talk openly about breast cancer, and share thousands of their own stories on social.

In the UK, one woman is diagnosed with Breast Cancer every 10 minutes. Despite this alarming fact, people struggle to talk openly about the disease.

Breast cancer is physically gruelling, but the emotional impact of a diagnosis isn’t spoken about enough. Many women in their forties and fifties suffer in silence.

Breast Cancer Now wanted to drive social change in the UK by normalising open conversation around breast cancer. The objective: to help prevent women with the disease from experiencing feelings of emotional isolation – whilst also positioning Breast Cancer Now as the place to turn to for support, whether they’re a patient, relative, friend or survivor.

Building on Breast Cancer Now’s ongoing strategy, the brief was to create an idea that led to more open conversations around breast cancer.

The Chat is the UK’s first WhatsApp drama series. Designed to connect with 40-50 year old women in a place that’s central to their daily lives, on their phones.

The story unfolded in real-time over 6 weeks through voice notes, videos, photos and text messages sent between four best friends as they navigated an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis together. An audience of influencers, celebrities and real people joined a Whatsapp group to watch the series, sharing its content and sparking interactions on social.

The series covered the most sensitive, emotionally challenging issues surrounding breast cancer, with an incredible cast bringing the story to life – BAFTA-award-winning Rakie Ayola, Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) and Claudie Blakley (Pride and Prejudice).

This groundbreaking approach to storytelling helped the audience feel like part of the friendship group, making the experience far more intimate than any TV drama.

To tackle the emotional isolation thousands of women in their forties and fifties feel when diagnosed, Breast Cancer Now commissioned The Chat. As the UK’s first WhatsApp drama series, it was an innovative, immersive experience. Its key message: it’s important to talk openly about breast cancer.

This target audience in particular share intimate messages on their phones, making the familiar setting of a WhatsApp group the perfect place to engage them. They also love the experience of getting lost in a drama series. This idea combined the two, blurring the lines between drama and reality.

The Chat supported Breast Cancer Now’s ongoing objective, to get the UK talking more openly about breast cancer. The strategy was to engage celebrities, influencers and members of the public to grab news headlines and spread awareness. A wealth of shareable content was created, alongside trailers. It was supported by news interviews to increase reach.

The Chat unfolded in real-time over 6 weeks on WhatsApp. Featuring over 1250 voice notes, videos, photos and text messages sent between four best friends as they navigated an unexpected breast cancer diagnosis together. An audience of influencers, celebrities and members of the public joined a Whatsapp group to watch the series – sharing its content and sparking interactions on social.

The famous cast donated their time and talent to bring The Chat to life. Their high profiles helped draw large numbers to watch the series.

Content from the series is still being shared, and, like any good drama series, viewers can catch up online via an episodic version housed on a microsite.

The series was covered by mainstream media across the UK, including the nation’s biggest morning show Good Morning Britain, the hugely successful BBC talk show Woman’s Hour and the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster ITV’s flagship news programme.

The campaign has reached over 24.5 million people so far.

Earned media is £2.1 million & counting.

Conversation around Breast Cancer Now increased significantly & site traffic rose by 191% since The Chat launched.

To date, it has clocked up over 23 minutes of airtime on the BBC.

The drama series has been covered by the UK’s mainstream media, including the nation’s biggest morning show, Good Morning Britain, the popular talk show Woman’s Hour & the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster ITV’s flagship news programme. Plus major newspaper titles, including Evening Standard, Daily Mirror, and Daily Express.

People moved by the series left a constant flow of positive tweets, likes & comments. Sharing experiences across social platforms, driving social change by normalising open conversation about breast cancer.

Viewer, Dee Watts wrote “I've realised it's ok to cry, laugh and be fucking angry. I am never holding in my emotions ever again.”

In the UK, people are known for having a ‘stiff upper lip’, keeping themselves to themselves and not expressing how they really feel. This inherently British trait is ingrained in society and contributes to thousands of women suffering in silence as they go through breast cancer.

Given that 1 woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 10 minutes in the UK, this is a serious issue. The Chat was an innovative way to create an intimate brand experience. It normalised open conversations about breast cancer in the UK and gave women the confidence to talk about their own experiences.