Sharing The Proof with British Columbians
Sector(s):
Service(s):
The Change
51.1%
of online respondents reported that they would likely drink less as a result of seeing the campaign
6x
The “Proof” campaign’s digital assets saw click-through rates six times higher than the industry average for a major digital network
3,500,000+
digital ad impressions
Distilling the evidence about alcohol-related cancers
BC Cancer provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. Their mandate covers the full spectrum of cancer care from prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment, to research and education, to supportive and palliative care.
The Challenge
Alcohol consumption poses a recognized threat to public health in Canada, yet it remains widespread. In 2020 alone, it contributed to more than 700,000 new cancer cases worldwide, affecting organs such as the breast, mouth, throat, and liver.
These statistics highlight a pressing need for greater public awareness and education. There’s a considerable gap in knowledge among Canadians, with only a third aware that they can lower their cancer risk by drinking less alcohol.
In January 2023, Canada’s new Guidance on Alcohol and Health was released. For minimal health risks, it recommends reducing the maximum number of drinks from 10 per week for women and 15 per week for men—to 2 drinks per week for everyone. BC Cancer—which provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of B.C. in partnership with regional health authorities—faced a dual challenge: to increase public awareness about these dangers while ensuring that the new guidance did not alienate those for whom alcohol holds cultural and social significance.
It needed a strategic and creative partner to develop a province-wide, multi-channel media campaign to inform, transform public perception, and encourage behaviour change. BC Cancer would be the first Canadian cancer agency to raise awareness about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer since the new guidance was launched. This meant it was important to communicate the message with creativity, empathy, and precision.
Discovery and Campaign Development
Informing strategy with research
Ensuring our campaign was based on evidence, we collaborated with the BC Cancer team and the B.C. Ministry of Health to explore its purpose and background. This included a scoping review of academic literature that evaluated public health campaigns with messaging about moderating alcohol consumption, drinking guidelines, and alcohol as a risk factor for cancer. We also carried out a cross-jurisdictional review of nine successful low-risk alcohol use and behaviour change campaigns from around the world.
Determining the best campaign approach
Through our research and discovery process, we realized the importance of anchoring our campaign in a factual, non-judgmental, and non-stigmatizing approach that affirmed the right to evidence-based information. Recognizing the challenges of engaging rural populations with out-of-home ads due to the scarcity of things like billboards and bus shelters, we decided to focus primarily on digital platforms. This ensured an inclusive campaign that would reach all our target audiences.
Campaign development and user testing
Our team developed three concepts which were refined with the client team. We then conducted focus groups with participants from across B.C., soliciting feedback on various potential campaign concepts and ad placements. Working with translation and cultural experts, we also developed and delivered the campaign to serve diverse communities, including Chinese, French, and Punjabi.
A digital-first campaign strategy
Based on the target audience for this campaign—residents of B.C. between the ages of 25 and 49 in both urban and rural centres—we opted for a digital-first strategy. This meant relying primarily on Instagram ads that corresponded well with the visual elements of the campaign concept, and digital display advertising. In addition to running ads from BC Cancer’s Instagram account, we recruited and onboarded B.C.-based Instagram content creators to maximize the reach of the campaign’s message and authentically engage audiences.
Leveraging out-of-home ads
Our focus groups showed an affinity for out-of-home ad spaces, such as digital billboards and print posters in bus shelters and on SkyTrain platforms, and places where adults typically consume alcohol, such as restaurants, bars/pubs, and live event venues. Based on this insight, we deployed an out-of-home media-buy strategy that would keep the campaign’s messaging relevant and top of mind for diverse communities across B.C.
A fresh, intuitive, and interactive website
We designed and developed a campaign website for The Proof, featuring a quiz that allows visitors to calculate and assess their risk of alcohol-related cancers based on their average weekly alcohol consumption. The media campaign drove audiences to the quiz via a QR code and a URL. It conveyed evidence-based information in a non-stigmatizing way and provided useful tips to moderate alcohol consumption.
A campaign that outperformed expectations
BC Cancer’s “The Proof” campaign earned significant media attention and generated considerable conversation on social media. Website traffic was strong, receiving over 37,000 website visitors, and high engagement across the entire site. Our campaign digital assets outperformed expectations, with click-through rates six times higher than the industry average for a major digital network (as reported by the media partner), and a strong performance on Instagram, where it reached 813,507 people and received 14,573 link clicks.
Evaluating our impact
To understand The Proof campaign’s impact, Be the Change Group conducted an outcome evaluation based on analytics from all media channels, including digital and traditional media, and through two qualitative data collection processes: a pop-up survey on the-proof.ca and street-intercept (in-person) surveys.
Campaign outcome
44.76%
of online respondents who reported having “poor” or “fair” knowledge of the link between alcohol and cancer reported having “good”, “very good”, or “excellent” knowledge after seeing the campaign
+17K
alcohol-related cancer risk assessment quizzes taken
52%
of people surveyed reported that they were likely to drink less after seeing the campaign (in-person survey results)
Award-winning
“The Proof” received an award for best Wellness Campaign in the 2024 Ragan Communications and PR Daily Social Media & Digital Awards.
“The Proof” campaign client team received an Excellence Award from BC Cancer for Innovation and Discovery in Action.
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