The Chat had PR at its core, reaching 24.5 million people with £2.1million earned media. Built on storytelling, the UK’s first WhatsApp drama series featured 1250+ relatable pieces of content. Engaging women aged 40-50 where their most intimate conversations happen. Tackling emotional isolation, it empowered people to talk more openly about breast cancer. Shared by influencers invited to the group, The Chat gained high-profile coverage on shows including ITV’s Good Morning Britain & BBC’s Woman’s Hour. Driving social change, it inspired countless women to share their own stories.

‘This phenomenal series shows the silence can be broken’ – BBC

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.

and a strategy rooted in earned media

original thinking, transformative insight

driven

business, societal, and/or cultural change

storytelling at its core

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 with their millions of followers and generating incredible PR.

Starring a relatable cast – BAFTA-award-winning Rakie Ayola, Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) and Claudie Blakley (Pride and Prejudice).

The series covered most sensitive and emotionally challenging issues surrounding breast cancer.

This groundbreaking approach to storytelling made the audience feel like part of the friendship group, an experience that was far more intimate than any TV drama.

To tackle the emotional isolation thousands of women in their forties and fifties feel when they’re diagnosed, Breast Cancer Now commissioned The Chat. As the UK’s first WhatsApp drama series, it was a newsworthy idea in its own right. Its key message: it’s important to talk openly about breast cancer.

This target audience in particular share intimate messages on their phones. They also love to get lost in a drama series. This idea combined the two.

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. The Chat played out day and night in real-time over six weeks. A wealth of shareable content was created, alongside trailers, and it was supported by news interviews to increase reach.

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.

Influencers and celebrities watched and shared The Chat, connecting with large numbers of the public, in particular women in the most at-risk age bracket.

Whilst the WhatsApp group drama played out over six weeks, 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 drama 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. Major newspaper titles, including The Evening Standard, Daily Mirror, The Daily Express and The Voice covered the series.

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, The Chat has clocked up over 23 minutes of airtime on the BBC, Britain’s non commercial national broadcaster. An almost unprecedented figure for a branded content series.

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

With a constant flow of positive tweets, likes, comments and shares across social platforms from people moved by the series, driving social change by normalising open conversation about breast cancer.

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 engaged people more intimately and encouraged conversation in an innovative, PRable way.