Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Testicular cancer is predominantly a young man's cancer, and as many as 1 in 20 men who get it will die.
By 2030, the Movember Foundation aims to:
Reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%
Reduce deaths from prostate cancer by 50%
Reduce the number of men dying from testicular cancer by 50%
To raise awareness around the importance of prostate and testicular exams, the Movember Foundation worked with BuzzFeed's The Try Guys to create a fun and meaningful video. The goal was to show men that a short doctor visit can help identify if you are in danger of having these types of cancers. Cancer screening doesn't take much time and is virtually painless. Taking an hour to see a doctor and get checked could literally save a man's life, fulfilling one of the key goals of the Movember Foundation.
Movember encourages conversations about men's health, and this video supported that initiative. Too many men don't talk about their mental or physical health issues. As friends and colleagues, the ability for the Try Guys to have frank and honest conversations was key. There's an age-old stigma in men speaking up about what ails them because it's seen as "weak" or "not masculine." Breaking down these barriers through humor with the Try Guys was vital to get the millennial generation thinking about their health differently.
Movember's success for over 12 years is due to a strategy of having honest conversations, and using fun to get men to take action. Using humor, choosing the right ambassador(s) to showcase the message, and partnering with the right team to maximize the reach of our campaign were critical elements of the strategy.
Executing the strategy had a lot of moving parts and came down to a team effort. Wolf- Kasteler Cause guided us beautifully in getting our message to the mass audience. This agency specializes in aligning causes with influencers to promote the charity's message. They have worked with The Entertainment Industry Foundation, OXFAM and ACLU to name a few. Culturally this agency was a great fit for Movember and their goal of bringing mass awareness to the cause helped immensely. Wolf- Kasteler approached BuzzFeed to discuss ways to work with The Try Guys in support of the annual Movember campaign. The Try Guys proposed the idea to make a video of them getting prostate and testicular exams to help reduce the stigma often connected to these procedures.
Movember often takes a humorous and light-hearted approach to serious men's health issues to help start a healthy conversation. Working with The Try Guys perfectly captured that essence authentically, as their videos are always humorous and often educational.
Working with BuzzFeed's Try Guys has helped us hit Movember's core audience of millennial men, framed through their voice and direction. The Try Guys' reach on YouTube amongst 18 – 34 year olds can powerfully influence them to have a regular checkup.
Incorporating an interview with Movember's Mark Hedstrom, gave a platform to speak to the Foundation's work, highlighted the importance of conversations, knowing family health history, and being proactive about taking care of yourself.
The Try Guys were great sports about getting their prostate and testicular cancer exams and created a hilarious, relatable, and most importantly, educational video that took an important message to millions.
The results of this campaign exceeded our expectations. BuzzFeed's video, "The Try Guys Get Prostate Exam" has educated more than 8.1 million viewers on men's health. The video lived on YouTube and was featured in an article published by BuzzFeed video accompanied by GIFs and copy about the Movember Foundation.
The video is one of the group's most successful. The audience engagement and reach of the video significantly impacted the Movember Foundation's efforts to raise awareness and getting men to take action for their health.
For even further reach, BuzzFeed shared/distributed the post from each of The Try Guys social handles where it reached a broader audience of more than 500k followings on Twitter and millions of fans on Facebook.
The video was also shared across Movember Foundation owned social media channels as well, adding thousands of additional views to the total count. The foundation has received many warm comments and emails on how much our Mo Bros enjoyed the video.
