The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strictly regulates the pharmaceutical industry’s promotional activities. Companies are required to provide necessary information about treatments’ side effects and contraindications or ensure adequate dissemination of FDA-approved labeling.(1) Non-branded awareness campaigns enable pharmaceutical companies to provide consumers with educational information without addressing specific treatments.

Building upon the Bristol-Myers Squibb marketing campaign in which cancer patients held flags with messages of self-empowerment such as, “The power to fight cancer may already be inside me,” we sought to create a unifying theme highlighting the communal effort it takes to fight cancer. Ready. Raise. Rise: Join the Revolution in Cancer Research made the flag the centerpiece of the campaign and an iconic symbol representing I-O research and the power of the immune system. Spurred on by own his own family’s struggle with cancer, celebrity spokesperson Eric Stonestreet issued a call-to-action, rallying tens of thousands of people to rise up together in fighting cancer by raising a virtual flag in honor of someone affected by the disease. Virtual flags gave people a way to show their support for those with cancer while also sharing links to an educational site, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of support and awareness.

• Spokesperson Eric Stonestreet, whose family has been affected by cancer and is passionate about raising awareness of treatment advancements, brought a wide following on social media.

• An interactive press release featuring a video from Stonestreet, infographic, GIF and more, announced the campaign on May 19, 2015. National media outreach and a satellite media tour with Stonestreet resulted in numerous interviews within three days.

• The website features “Create Your Own Flag,” a gallery of flags/messages, and links to pages on the DTC immuno-oncology ad campaign site, with which the PR site is closely aligned in look/feel to ensure a tightly integrated consumer experience.

• BMS Tweets featured dynamic visual content that was also used to reach cancer-connected consumers on Twitter through a paid strategy. Facebook ads targeted people who had donated to a cancer charity and followed advocacy pages. Stonestreet’s Tweets and Facebook posts amplified reach.

• Spokesperson Eric Stonestreet, whose family has been affected by cancer and is passionate about raising awareness of treatment advancements, brought a wide following on social media.

• An interactive press release featuring a video from Stonestreet, infographic, GIF and more, announced the campaign on May 19, 2015. National media outreach and a satellite media tour with Stonestreet resulted in numerous interviews within three days.

• The website features “Create Your Own Flag,” a gallery of flags/messages, and links to pages on the DTC immuno-oncology ad campaign site, with which the PR site is closely aligned in look/feel to ensure a tightly integrated consumer experience.

• BMS Tweets featured dynamic visual content that was also used to reach cancer-connected consumers on Twitter through a paid strategy. Facebook ads targeted people who had donated to a cancer charity and followed advocacy pages. Stonestreet’s Tweets and Facebook posts amplified reach.

Since cancer affects every gender and age group, Ready. Raise. Rise: Join the Revolution in Cancer Research sought to reach a broad audience: the cancer community via the general public. The campaign employed several strategies: targeted media outreach, a satellite media tour, social media advertising and word of mouth, a celebrity spokesperson and the support of cancer advocacy groups. The spokesperson issued a call-to-action, rallying thousands of people to honor loved ones affected by cancer and spurring donations to advocacy groups through a charitable component. Bristol-Myers Squibb achieved its goals: raising awareness of immuno-oncology research while engaging the cancer community.

• A BMS-commissioned omnibus survey of 2,500 Americans showed that only 15% were knowledgeable about immuno-oncology (I-O), yet 87% wanted to learn more about it.(3) Survey insights informed the campaign: the immune system’s potential role as weapon in fighting cancer is different than other cancer treatment approaches and it must be easily understood among a wide range of audiences.

• Ready. Raise. Rise virtual flags appealed to people emotionally, allowing them to express support for those with cancer, while sharable social media content linked to www.ReadyRaiseRise.com.

• Advocacy groups were engaged to help educate the public about I-O research. Using a campaign hashtag, individuals posting flags on social media could select one of 23 groups to support. Three groups with the most flags raised in their name received a charitable donation. The friendly competition among the groups enabled them to share their mission while driving people to the educational website.

Two out of five Americans will develop cancer in their lifetime, and the incidence is increasing.(2) Still, many do not know about immuno-oncology (I-O) – a rapidly evolving area of research aimed at harnessing the body’s immune system to help fight cancer.(3) Though called “Breakthrough of the Year” by the journal Science in 2013, there were no wide-reaching efforts to educate the public about I-O, nor any single unified movement among advocates in 2014.

A leader in I-O research, Bristol-Myers Squibb wanted to reach the public with important health messages. This led to a campaign aimed at honoring those impacted by cancer, impelling people to learn about research advances for more informed discussions with doctors, and building goodwill in the cancer community.

• Raise awareness; educate the general public and those impacted by cancer about I-O research

• Engage audiences in I-O education, encourage them to share messages with other