Finalist
#MoreThanJustHeartburn Marketing Campaign
Summary of work
Early diagnosis is crucial for better outcomes in oesophageal cancer, but most patients in England are still diagnosed late. Heartburn Cancer UK’s #MoreThanJustHeartburn campaign, developed with Costello Medical, aimed to change this by reframing persistent heartburn as a symptom.
Grounded in epidemiological data, stakeholder interviews and audience personas, the campaign focused on men over 50 in higher-deprivation areas of Wessex and the East Midlands, those at most risk and least likely to seek help. Three messaging pillars – symptom awareness, disease awareness and lifestyle – anchored a single belief shift: persistent heartburn is not normal.
A mix of social media, patient and clinician video stories, and traditional media advertisements reached people where they live, travel and self-medicate. HCUK led patient-facing activity and NHS partnerships, while Costello Medical drove strategy, creative and evaluation, ensuring empathetic communication and safeguarding.
The campaign achieved a 650% year-on-year increase in social impressions, a 278% rise in interactions. 2,152 campaign materials were requested by healthcare professionals in Wessex, and early data from Wessex Cancer Alliance suggest increased urgent suspected cancer referrals and upper gastrointestinal cancer diagnoses, indicating that #MoreThanJustHeartburn is beginning to shift both awareness and behaviour in a hard‑to‑reach, high‑need community.
Judges’ comments
The campaign from Costello Medical and Heartburn Cancer UK gave a good landscape analysis to help provide understanding of why the project was needed and the barriers it needed to tackle. It was very niche, very local, fairly cheap, and worked well as a pilot project with other health boards adopting it. It had a clear medical rationale and belief‑change objective supported by an integrated strategy.
