With the coming election year in Sweden, we identified the opportunity to create awareness for the issues within childhood cancer care. We believed that engaging and creating pressure from the public would help us reach all the way to the Ministry of Social Affairs.

We developed the integrated campaign “If I was Minister of Social Affairs”. Instead of letting the foundation be the primary voice, we let three childhood cancer survivors, with real experiences, be at the center of the campaign. In planned real-time videos and letters, we wanted them to personally address Annika Strandhäll, tell her their stories and what they would do for childhood cancer care if they had her job as the Minister of Social Affairs.

The children and their parents published the videos on Facebook, together with a clear call-to-action, asking their friends to share in order to reach the minister.

In the first phase of the campaign, the report was released. Three of the biggest national news outlets received the material in advance and interviewed the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation’s Research Director as well as one of the three childhood cancer survivors. Within 24 hours the report about the precarious situation within childhood cancer care was the top story in Swedish media. Simultaneously, the minister received the handwritten letters from the children.

In the second phase, we went from earned media to social with Facebook as the central hub.

The same afternoon as the report headlined Swedish media, the children's families published the videos on Facebook and the foundation shared them, asking friends and followers to share the videos so they would reach Annika Strandhäll - with no digital advertising budget. The following morning, one of the children's letters was published as a full-page ad in the leading national daily.

The report was published in all national media outlets and picked up by a news agency and spread to all local newspapers in Sweden. The foundation’s Research Director was interviewed in radio and television together with the children and their families. In total, 200 articles were published and the report was mentioned in the morning and evening broadcasts. The total reach exceeded 17.4 million and the PR value is estimated to 1 million euro.

Within 24 hours, the videos had over 230,000 views and 7,600 shares. Thousands of cheering comments came from cancer survivors, hospital staff and others affected by the videos. Today, the videos have over a million views and 23,000 shares.

In less than 7 hours, Annika Strandhäll answered the children in a Facebook comment. Shortly after, an official invitation to the children was published on the Ministry’s website and personal letters were sent from Strandhäll. She also raised the issue during a weekly hearing in the Swedish parliament.

During the meeting with the minister, the foundation presented their requirements on how to improve childhood cancer care and the children got to “work” as Ministers of Social Affairs and tell Annika Strandhäll about their personal experiences.

Today, the foundation has a closer dialogue with Annika Strandhäll and she has promised 50 million euro/year over a four year period to Swedish cancer care, and for the first time, designated part of the budget to improve childhood cancer care.

Double-gold in Polaris Awards 2018 in Public Affairs and Social Media.