SOURCE: Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

October 01, 2008 13:47 ET

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Selects Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to Continue Two Multi-Year Campaigns

Social Marketing Initiatives to Increase Awareness for Colorectal and Gynecologic Cancers

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - October 1, 2008) - The Washington, D.C. office of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR), an integrated global communications firm, announced today that it has been awarded two six-year contracts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue promoting the "Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action" and the "Inside Knowledge: Get the Facts About Gynecologic Cancer" initiatives. Ogilvy PR has managed the research, development, execution, and evaluation of the "Screen for Life" and "Inside Knowledge" campaigns since their inceptions in 1998 and 2006 respectively.

"We are proud to continue our partnership with CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control on the pressing issue of cancer awareness," said Robert Mathias, managing director of Ogilvy PR's Washington office. "The 'Screen for Life' campaign has been extremely successful in its efforts to educate older adults about the importance of colorectal cancer screening, and we are excited to have the opportunity to continue this critical outreach initiative."

Mathias added that the new multi-million dollar contract for the congressionally-mandated gynecologic cancer awareness campaign, "Inside Knowledge," will enable CDC and Ogilvy PR to further expand outreach to women regarding signs and symptoms that may aid early detection. "We are poised and eager to continue working to raise awareness of gynecologic cancer, and to engage women and health care providers in the campaign through new communication ideas, channels, and executions," he said.

Ogilvy PR has a long history of working with CDC to advance cancer awareness, early detection, and prevention. Over the past nine years, the "Screen for Life" campaign PSAs have generated more than 5.7 billion impressions worth an estimated 71 million dollars in equivalent ad value. They also are ranked consistently in the top 10 percent of PSAs tracked by Nielsen Media Research.

"Of cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the U.S. Studies show that if all adults 50 and older were screened appropriately, up to 60 percent of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented. We are asking adults to take action against cancer, and statistics show that people are listening," said Jennifer Wayman, executive vice president and group director of Ogilvy PR's Social Marketing Practice. "Each time a new person sees or hears one of the 'Screen for Life' PSAs, we may help save a life," Wayman added.

The focus of the "Inside Knowledge" campaign is to raise awareness of the five major types of gynecologic cancer -- cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar -- among women and health care providers. More than 71,000 American women are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer each year. Because symptoms can be absent, mild, or ambiguous, gynecologic cancers often are not diagnosed at their earliest stages when treatment can be most effective. As a result, an estimated 27,000 women in the U.S. die from some form of gynecologic cancer each year.

"For the past two years, we've worked closely with CDC to plan and develop a program that we believe will speak to all women about the importance of getting 'inside knowledge' about gynecologic cancers," Wayman added. "'Inside Knowledge' will encourage women to listen to their bodies, recognize potential warning signs, and give women the confidence and language to speak with their health care providers about gynecologic cancers." The new contract will enable CDC and Ogilvy PR to fully execute the initiative.

"We will continue to work tirelessly with CDC on both the 'Screen for Life' and 'Inside Knowledge' campaigns," Mathias added. "We hope to amplify each campaign's reach by activating partnerships and motivating consumers and health professionals to reinforce the message that greater cancer awareness and early detection -- be it colorectal or gynecologic -- does indeed, save lives."

About Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) is a leading global marketing communications firm, with offices in more than 60 cities around the world. In its 27th year, Ogilvy PR provides strategic public relations counsel to a variety of clients across its consumer marketing, corporate, healthcare, technology, public affairs, social marketing and entertainment practices. The agency also offers biotechnology and government affairs expertise through its subsidiaries Feinstein Kean Healthcare and Ogilvy Government Relations, respectively. Ogilvy PR is part of the WPP Group, one of the world's largest communications services organizations (NASDAQ: WPPGY) (www.wpp.com). For more information, visit our Web site at www.ogilvypr.com.