Netherlands screening campaign country

‘’Do it today’’, how a social first campaign helps to take action

Over the past two years, a social-first campaign has been running in the Netherlands to inform young women about cervical cancer. The initiators are Bevolkingsonderzoek Nederland (Dutch National Health Screening organization), KWF (Dutch Cancer Organization) and RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment).

The campaign targets women who can participate in the first screening program. In the Netherlands, we focus on women between the age of 30 and 34 .

Research commissioned by the Dutch National Screening organization shows that 79% of 30 to 34 year olds are willing to participate in the cervical cancer screening program (BMHK), but that only 41% of this group has participated in 2022. It also shows that one in three women do not talk about the population screening, because they have not enough information about the subject or find it difficult to talk about it. That’s why the campaign kicked off with the message: ”Let’s talk about BMHK. Have you already done the test (either at the doctors or through a self-test)?

A year later, the campaign message was updated to “Do it today”. This was chosen because after a year of informative content, it was time to move to a more activating message. “Do it today” refers to the procrastinating behavior of young women. Research showed that only 3 in 10 women take action in the 12 weeks after they have received the invitation for the screening program. This is a concerning development, because the human papillomavirus (HPV) is most common in the group of 30 to 34 year old women.

The campaign is a social-first campaign with always on content and advertising that uses the reach of media attention in the international cervical cancer prevention week. This media attention led to TV appearances, articles in newspapers and many online publications. The cooperation of influencers (not paid) increases attention throughout the year. Since this year, out-of-home posters have also been used in the catering industry.

The campaign was awarded two marketing awards last year. And more importantly: the group of women who were targeted with this campaign responded enthusiastically, encouraged other women to participate, asked questions in the DM, knows where to find us and participates visibly more often in the screening program. Thanks to the efforts of the self-test and the campaign, the participation rate is increasing!

Curious to learn more?

www.bmhk.nl

www.instagram.com/bmhk.nl