Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women in the U.S. combined. Colorectal cancer is among the most preventable cancers, however one in three adults aged 50 to 75 are not up-to-date with recommended colorectal cancer screening. According to Fight Colorectal Cancer, more than 60 percent of deaths from colorectal cancer could be avoided with screening and studies suggest that lack of awareness in young patients about the signs and symptoms of colon and rectal cancers are causing a higher incidence of colon and rectal cancer in young adults under 50.
The main goal of this campaign was to increase awareness in the primary target audience of men and women over the age of 50 about the process of receiving a colonoscopy and the importance of screening for colorectal cancer as it is among the most preventable cancers by live-streaming a colonoscopy. Additional goals were to have the secondary audience of health care professionals, communicators, and journalists recognize an opportunity for education and to find the provided content worthy of sharing with their social networks and audiences.
The #ScopeScope campaign aimed to increase the social media reach and engagement of Mayo Clinic. More specifically, the objective was to educate target audiences about colorectal screening by increasing the amount of Periscope views, questions, and comments; Twitter reach of #ScopeScope; Facebook reach and engagement on related posts; and pickup of the story by national or regional media.
Receiving a colonoscopy is an uncomfortable topic to discuss, let alone to plan and prepare for. However, when more than 60 percent of deaths from colorectal cancer can be avoided with proper screening, it becomes less about being uncomfortable and more about survival. Lee Aase of the Mayo Clinic Department of Public Affairs decided to not only undergo a colonoscopy, but to broadcast it live on Periscope so viewers could ask questions and comment in real-time, a first for Mayo Clinic.
To make this campaign successful, collaboration between the non-profit organization Fight Colorectal Cancer and the Mayo Clinic Departments of Communication, Social and Digital Innovation, Gastroenterology, and Hepatology was used to reach a larger audience about the risk, screening, and prevention of colorectal cancer. Due to not only HIPPA concerns, but also the potential complications that exist in all medical procedures, the collaboration and preparation among Mayo Clinic departments and Fight Colorectal Cancer were an important key factor in making this video successful. This collaboration led to the first-ever Mayo Clinic live broadcast of a medical procedure to a non-medical audience and was broadcast on Periscope as part of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Because Periscope broadcasts are only on the site for 24 hours it can't be known for certain, but it is likely this was the first time a hospital broadcast a colonoscopy live on Periscope. At the time of the procedure, Mayo Clinic was the most popular hospital channel on Periscope with more than 15,000 followers and on Twitter with more than 1.25 million followers. Allowing viewers in to the operation room through Periscope to view a live procedure was an unprecedented and unique healthcare experience.
Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Paul Limburg, M.D. worked with the Department of Communication to identify the appropriate physicians for the procedure and also assisted in developing a plan in the event a discovery was made or complication occurred. During the procedure, Dr. Limburg answered real-time questions submitted by Periscope viewers.
Partnering with Fight Colorectal Cancer and in addition to the live Periscope broadcast, the Mayo Clinic News Network team captured video of the procedure that was later broadcast on the NASDAQ Jumbotron in Times Square. By partnering with Fight Colorectal Cancer, Mayo Clinic was able to use these videos to educate a large audience about colorectal cancer while showing the procedure is not as scary as some may perceive it to be. Mayo Clinic continues to be a worldwide leader in social and digital innovation among hospitals.
#ScopeScope was made internally and required no additional budget.
The broadcast of #ScopeScope had more than 3,000 live viewers and 1,800 archived views. Additional videos were created for the Mayo Clinic News Network, as well as a 28-minute highlight video for YouTube. Together, those videos have 2,825 views on YouTube and also made appearances on Times Square's NASDAQ jumbotron that has an average reach of one million per day resulting in an estimated 31 million impressions. Posts on the Mayo Clinic Facebook page reached more than 380,000 users and generated more than 4,000 engagements, along with more than 8,000 link clicks.
#ScopeScope was part of the larger One Million Strong's #OMScollection campaign. Along with the #StrongArmSelfie and #31DaysofBlue, the #OMScollection gathered 96.2 million social media impressions, 90,000 website visits, and estimated 83 million media placements.
