issue: A breast cancer screening program serving low income and underinsured women in Kansas was operating at less than 55% of funded capacity due to a lack of awareness.
situation: The Kansas Department of Health and Environment funded a program called Free to Know which provided free cancer screening for up to 7,500 low income and underinsured women in Kansas. The program was screening only 4,000 women per year—less than 55% of capacity. Kansas’ goal was to fully utilize the available funds for cancer screening in order to detect and treat the cancers earlier, thereby saving lives.
solution: vitalink proposed and implemented a comprehensive rebranding of the program, including a name change that 
spoke directly to the essence of the program: Early Detection Works. Our research found that aside from not knowing about the program, many Kansas women (particularly those in rural areas of the state), placed the needs of their families above their own, and often viewed these screenings as either optional or placed them much lower on their list of priorities. The central strategy of the marketing campaign was twofold: first, to subtly reposition breast and cervical cancer screenings from the “might do” to “must do” list; and second, to emphasize how quickly and simply the screenings could be accomplished (they take about as much time as a trip to the grocery store).
Campaign elements included the new program name and logo design, website, posters, a series of five targeted program brochures (Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, American Indian and Vietnamese), static cling window decals for doctors’ offices, portable display booths for area coordinators to use, television-radio-print educational ads, public relations, a complementing public service announcement (PSA) campaign, and media research, planning and placement at a great rate of return. The campaign was timed to coincide with the national breast cancer awareness month and national cervical cancer awareness month to further stretch marketing dollars.
results: During the first full year of marketing, the program enjoyed increased awareness and a 23% jump in participation rates. Public relations activities across the state garnered more than 6 million impressions during the first year alone. Since the rebranding kick-off, the program has reached its maximum capacity of 7,500 for several years in a row. With awareness and participation running so high, the state has been able to reduce the marketing expenditure for the program by 60% without impacting its results. The state contract has recently been put out to bid and was awarded to vitalink again.
