Seven-time Olympic medalist Shannon Miller shares her journey through cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery in St. Louis-based Ascension's most recent marketing campaign.
In 2011, the then 33-year-old gymnast was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after a routine screening that she almost delayed. After receiving care at Ascension, Ms. Miller — who is now 10 years cancer-free — teamed up with the health system to help ensure other women catch diagnoses before it's too late.
The campaign, which Ascension developed in-house in less than a month, focuses on encouraging women to get early health screenings. The ads end with a tagline encouraging women to "start a conversation with a doctor who listens."
"This line communicates [Ascension's brand promise] to women who may have health concerns and just want to have a conversation with their doctor. Instead of looking up their concerns online, they have a relationship with a physician they trust and can talk to them about whatever their concerns are — or whatever is on their mind," Nick Ragone, Ascension's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, told Becker's.
The ads will run during and after the Olympics in all of Ascension's markets. The health system will also launch social media ads through the Tokyo summer games and beyond, as well as an email campaign focused on important health screenings, such as mammograms, later this summer.