NHS West Essex
Driving Bowel Cancer Screening Awareness
NHS West Essex is an NHS primary care trust (PCT) in Essex, England. It is responsible for improving primary care and the health of the local population and with a statutory responsibility for providing health services.
Challenge
Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with early detection significantly improving survival rates. However, many people over the age of 55 often neglect to return their bowel cancer screening kits, which they receive by post. The NHS West Essex team faced the challenge of increasing awareness and urgency around returning these kits, especially given the importance of early detection. With a limited budget of £1,000, the goal was to create an impactful campaign that would reach the target demographic and drive them to take action.
Action
To address this challenge, NHS West Essex launched a digital awareness campaign exclusively on Outbrain, a native advertising platform known for its extensive reach and ability to engage users with relevant content. The campaign focused on delivering compelling messages that emphasised the importance of returning the bowel cancer screening kits immediately upon receipt.
Key actions taken included:
Targeted Messaging: The campaign’s creatives were designed to resonate with individuals aged 55 and older, highlighting both the ease of returning the kit and the potential life-saving benefits of early detection.
Platform Selection: Outbrain was chosen for its cost-effectiveness and ability to deliver high volumes of impressions within a short timeframe.
Optimisation: Throughout the campaign, continuous monitoring and optimisation were conducted to maximise engagement, focusing on achieving a lower cost-per-click (CPC) while maintaining relevance.
Results
The campaign was highly successful in achieving its objectives within the constraints of a limited budget. Key results include:
Impressions: The campaign generated an impressive 827,205 impressions, significantly raising awareness across the target audience.
Clicks: A total of 1,632 clicks were achieved, driving significant traffic to the NHS West Essex website where individuals could find more information on how to return their kits.
Cost Efficiency: The average cost-per-click (CPC) was maintained at a low £0.57, allowing the campaign to stretch its budget effectively.
Awareness and Action: While the primary metric of success was engagement, the heightened awareness and urgency created by the campaign are expected to have a positive impact on the number of returned kits, although this is yet to be fully quantified.