00:01Roughly 100 people die every day of breast cancer in the US, and virtually all of these
00:07deaths are from metastatic breast cancer. That's moms, daughters, sisters, friends,
00:14who are neglected from research dollars because they carry the stigma of already being terminal.
00:20In October 2016, Refinery29 partnered with Cancerland, a nonprofit dedicated to raising
00:28awareness and funding for these forgotten patients. Together, we activated a multimedia social
00:35good campaign throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month to tell the stories of these women who
00:40found strength in their sense of self, power in their beauty, and who refused to let an
00:46incurable, deadly disease tell their story for them.
00:50When I was bald and boobless, I found self-confidence, and that's when I realized, like, I'm beautiful.
00:56Their stories were shared across multiple distribution channels to generate empathy with our audience
01:01through a large-scale multimedia campaign. On-site, we built a custom landing page featuring
01:07serviceable, narrative-led articles, with photography showing a raw and honest insight to a day in
01:12the life. Tapping into our viewers' affinity for beauty, we paired makeup transformations
01:18with first-person testimonials from metastatic patients in a Social First video series.
01:23We need a cure because we're dying, and I'm dying for a cure.
01:29We engaged our audience in a powerful discussion with metastatic patients, doctors, and experts
01:35via Facebook Live, generating real-time conversation between viewers and panelists.
01:40As a Stage 4 cancer patient, what is the best way to educate others on the reality of the disease?
01:45I think people don't understand what metastatic means, especially if you're not in the cancer
01:51world, so I've started telling people I'm terminal.
01:54After capturing our audience's attention, we challenge them with action.
01:58How can you be an ally?
02:00How can you be supportive?
02:01If you're just tuning in, we are about to stage a symbolic die-in to represent the 113
02:07men and women that die every day from metastatic breast cancer.
02:10Taking to Washington alongside hundreds of diagnosed patients to stage a die-in on the White House
02:15Salon and meet with senators to pass a bill that grants funding to metastatic research.
02:22The result?
02:22A powerful story of women helping women through a multimedia campaign that aggregated over 7.7
02:29million views, engagement upwards of 62,000, and increased donations to Canceland throughout
02:34the month.
02:37Beyond quantitative, our community bonded in showing solidarity for metastatic patients, with many
02:43sharing personal stories or offering words of encouragement.
02:49Refinery29 and Canceland's partnership harness social scale for true awareness.
02:54Top-down research.
02:55Start with the deadliest form of the disease, cure it, and you've cured everyone.
03:00Simply stated, we created actual change.
03:04True awareness leads to research, which leads to cure, which leads to life.
