In a commendable effort to promote health awareness within Victoria’s diverse cultural landscape, the positive change agency Think HQ has unveiled an innovative campaign aimed at bolstering bowel screening participation. This campaign, conducted for Cancer Council Victoria, is specifically tailored to resonate with the Punjabi, Hindi, and Vietnamese-speaking groups in Victoria.
In Australia, individuals aged 50-74 are entitled to a free home bowel screening test kit biennially, courtesy of the Australian Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. Despite this, recent statistics from Victoria reveal a worrying decline in screening participation, dropping from 46.5% to 43.9% over the past year. Recognizing a gap in engagement, Cancer Council Victoria and Think HQ have joined forces to address this pressing health issue in a culturally nuanced manner.
Under the guidance of CultureVerse, Think HQ’s dedicated arm for multicultural communication and community engagement, the campaign was meticulously crafted with direct involvement from community copywriters and leaders. This collaboration leveraged Cancer Council Victoria’s research, uncovering specific barriers faced by each community regarding bowel screening. The campaign strategically integrates cultural moments, such as family gatherings, cooking, and exercise, to foster a shift in attitude and behaviour towards screening.
Each video in the campaign features a Victorian General Practitioner from the respective communities, delivering a compelling, in-language call to action: “take the test today.”
Kelly Dienaar, Head of Media and Communications, Prevention Division at Cancer Council Victoria, highlighted the challenges faced by non-English speaking Australians in participating in bowel screening. “Often, members of these communities face significant barriers to screening, ranging from lack of awareness about bowel cancer risks to delayed action due to waiting for symptoms or misconceptions about diet protection,” Dienaar explained.
To counteract these disparities, Think HQ crafted customized engagement and marketing strategies. These strategies were informed by research insights, ensuring the messaging effectively resonated with community members through optimal communication channels.
Andy Lima, Chief Creative Officer at Think HQ, elaborated on their unique approach: “We collaborated with writers from the Vietnamese, Punjabi, and Hindi communities to create an innovative campaign using our collective creativity approach. The co-created campaign resonated with all three audiences and effectively addressed specific community concerns through its messaging, language, and visuals.”
Jess Billimoria, Head of CultureVerse, emphasized the importance of community inclusion from the campaign’s inception. “Working closely with copywriters from each community elevated our work, ensuring that the creative output was informed by real experiences and language nuances.”
The comprehensive campaign comprises various formats, including 30”, 15”, and 6” videos, 30” radio spots, social media tiles, and supporting copy, all tailored to effectively communicate with the target communities in their native languages.
This pioneering initiative by Think HQ and Cancer Council Victoria sets a precedent in culturally sensitive health communication, demonstrating the profound impact of community-focused and linguistically tailored approaches in public health campaigns.
You can view the work here.
The Vietnamese video is the HERO.
Campaign credits
Think HQ
Jen Sharpe – Founder and Managing Director
Andy Lima – Chief Creative Officer
Rob Barnett – Executive Creative Director
Sam McCarron – Associate Creative Director
Max Bengtsson – Senior Copywriter
Nadia Ladson – Account Director
Harshini Sivaraj – Account Manager
CultureVerse
Jess Billimoria, Head of CultureVerse
Rebecca Song – Account Manager
Farida Malek – Community Engagement Manager
Nicolas Ojeda Amador – Communications and Engagement Specialist
Tracy Pham, Parminder Kaur, Jasmeet Sahi – Community Copywriters
Production – Think HQ
David O’Connor – Producer
Nic Song – Cinematographer
Matthew Fregnan – Video Editor
Adam Dixon-Galea – Sound
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