Association Insight International & European Association Insights Spring 2015 | Page 35

Association Success Story | Association Insights Association Success Story Project World Cancer Day 2015:‘Not Beyond Us’ – a social media campaign Categories Effective voice, Event, Campaign Dates April 2014 to February 2015 Each World Cancer Day campaign is developed and launched in the year preceding the Day itself, so the World Cancer Day 2015 campaign was developed in 2014 and launched on 4th September 2014, using the next months to build momentum and engagement in the Day. Association Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) Members With more than 840 organisations in 150 countries, our membership base features the world’s major cancer societies, ministries of health, research institutes and patient groups. Project team Vanessa Von der Muhll, Head of Communications, Marketing and Web The Communications Team at UICC, which comprises three full time staff, leads the campaign, but other teams in the organisation are also involved and engaged throughout. Objectives We assess the success of each World Cancer Day by measuring: 1. The number of UICC members active on the Day. UICC has a growing membership base which now numbers more than 840 organisations in 150 countries. This number has trebled in recent years and their level of engagement with the UICC agenda has improved. We recognise that the profile of World Cancer Day critically depends on their commitment to raise awareness on the day in their own country and with their local media. It is therefore essential to the success of the campaign that we maximise the number of UICC members involved in the Day. choices, early detection, treatment for all, quality of life, etc). This is our headline measure of success – the opportunity to see, hear and read about the Day across all media types. 3. W  e compare progress year on year to ensure that we learn from previous campaigns. This allows us to assess what has worked and what has not worked, so we can achieve a greater impact each February 4th. Background Policy development by associations is traditionally done by their own experts and board members. The labour Union is facing decreasing number of members. We decided that a different approach was needed. By involving members directly and asking them what they want, the policy advice was much better tailored to their needs. Which in the long run will give a higher membership satisfaction. Moreover, the outcomes were highly appreciated by the Minister, as they were clearly based on the needs in society, and not only the outcome of a complex political process. Introduction On 4th February 2015, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) marked World Cancer Day collaboratively with its many members, partners and supporters around the world, breaking previous records and culminating in 10.7 billion opportunities to see, hear or read about World Cancer Day in 2015. The campaign focused on taking a positive and proactive approach to the fight against cancer using the tagline ‘Not beyond us’. It explored how we can implement what we already know in the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment and care, and in turn, open up to the exciting prospect that we can impact the global cancer burden – for the better. Through the hundreds of activities and initiatives that took place around the globe, we were able to show that there is much that can be done at an individual, community and governmental level to harness and mobilise these solutions and catalyse positive change. 2. The global media coverage of the Day (opportunities to see, hear or read about ‘World Cancer Day’) and the pick up on social media (eg #WorldCancerDay, #NotBeyondUs (campaign theme), healthy life www.associationsnetwork.org © Associations Network 2015 | 35