ABOUT

Even in modern times, women’s femininity is constructed around the idea of fertility. From prepubescent ages, females are taught that they will menstruate, periods may be painful, they should unequivocally want and bear children, and one day their wombs will retire during menopause. And they are expected not to talk about it. In fact, society has encouraged them to suffer in silence. #wombstories exposes these truths and challenges the taboos and shame imposed by society surrounding women’s bodies and health. The film’s bold script depicts the emotional, complicated, diverse and sometimes painful reality of women’s intimate experiences. At the heart of the film are stories of two parallel journeys – one of a woman who decides not to have children and another of one who struggles to conceive and faces the trials of IVF and miscarriage. Also featured are raw and candid stories around experiencing endometriosis, menopause and a first period at a very young age.

Directed by Golden Globe and Emmy nominated Nisha Gantra, the film uses live action and various styles of animation to capture the lifelong relationship women have with their wombs. It successfully communicates the breadth of women’s intimate experiences in one short film, bringing the tales to life through artistic and ground-breaking storytelling. Capturing both the heartache and the joy, it uses evocative track Priestess by Pumarosa with a pulsating beat and bespoke sound effects to capture the mood.

STRATEGY
Our PR campaign to launch the film was grounded in consumer research bearing out the impact that these longstanding cultural taboos have on women’s emotional health and wellbeing. In turn, by sharing these insightful findings, we would give the media and ultimately, the general public, the motivation and confidence to share their personal #wombstories -- and inspire women globally to challenge the taboos that are so deeply embedded within the fabric of society and holding women back.

The very insights gleaned from our #wombstories survey examining the female experience informed the film. We learned that 68% of women who had experienced miscarriage, endometriosis, fertility issues or menopause felt that being open with friends and family had helped them cope. Yet, 21% felt society discouraged this and oppressed them into silence, with 44% reporting that they experienced mental health issues from remaining silent. Tapping into these insights, we set out to ignite a groundswell of organic conversation online to run alongside the release of the film and encourage women to speak out and share their stories.






EXECUTION
To launch #wombstories, we recruited two engaging and relatable macro influencers -- breast cancer survivor Lauren Mahon and author and founder of Make Motherhood Diverse Candice Braithwaite. Together they shared their own compelling #wombstories and grounded our campaign in powerful and moving human stories mirroring those told in the film. We targeted high profile national and international media to carry their stories of how, between the two of them, they had endured endometriosis, fertility issues, difficult pregnancies and the embarrassment of menstruating at an early age. They shared the film and their personal experiences on Instagram [Candice’s 200k+ followers and Lauren’s 50k+] to start the conversation and inspire others to join in.

The influencers’ stories became our primary vehicle to drive media interviews in high-reach titles such as Stylist and The Telegraph. With so many compelling #wombstories highlighted both in the film and by our two key influencers, we wanted to ensure that the Libresse brand was also supporting the charities that resonated most with our target, so we presented the research findings alongside a charity donation offer to drive press engagement. Libresse donated £10,000 to charities supporting many of the #wombstories told in the film, including The Eve Appeal, Endometriosis UK, Fertility Network UK and Tommy’s. We took this up a notch after securing an interview for Lauren with Superdrug’s magazine, Dare, which unlocked in-store support for Libresse including a month-long sales mechanic which enabled a donation from each pack to go to Endometriosis UK.

RESULTS
Word of the campaign spread around the world, collecting praise from The Netherlands to Argentina – with #wombstories exceeding all benchmarks in Libresse brand engagement, even surpassing the success of 2019’s campaign, Viva La Vulva. The social video garnered 32MM views in Russia, 34MM views in France and 24MM in the UK in the first six weeks alone – and was mentioned on social in 132 countries, despite only launching in 21. Through August 2020, our earned media coverage in the UK generated a reach of 1.5 BN. With £0 paid media support for the first month, PR generated over 3.3MM organic video views during that time, as well as 241 engagements and 6MM impressions. Our social efforts reached another 4.7MM.

The campaign was powerful in increasing brand recognition and driving a 200% increase in followers across Libresse’s social platforms. It also ignited brand preference and impact on purchase propensity, resulting in a 66% increase in positive brand perception, with consumers reporting they were twice as likely to buy the brand’s products . Across social, women were engaging with the campaign with their own stories and saying how they would commit to using the brand’s products over competitors in the future .

#wombstories has also been a huge viral success. In the UK alone, Bodyform dominated its competitors, securing the top spot in share of voice on social, growing from 30% to 90%, and increasing mentions by 1657%. Our media outreach garnered 135 pieces of coverage in top tier outlets including Marie Claire, Talk Radio, Evening Standard, Glamour, Mail Online, Metro, The Telegraph, The Independent, Huffington Post, MSN, Yahoo!, BBC Radio 5, The Sun and You. The campaign also drove organic social shares from high profile influencers such as author Caitlin Moran, actress Frieda Pinto and bloggers Callie Thorpe, Lily Pebbles and This is Mothership.

Women around the UK were quick to share their stories, reflecting on their own experiences and expressing how they felt seen and heard and, most importantly, represented for the first time – proving the campaign conveyed a story that was universally appealing, but spoke individually to every woman at the same time. To date, over 2,500 women have shared their personal #wombstories, which continue to inspire Libresse’s taboo-breaking actions, drive social change and eliminate outdated stigmas.

Despite its raw and ground-breaking subject matter, 94% of all social comments have been positive and supportive. One twitter user posted: “Bravo Bodyform! Thanks for telling the stories that many of us have and continue to experience. The fragility, the power – you’ve got it so right.” And it isn’t just women who the film has impacted: “As a new dad, #wombstories speaks to me, having been through the excitement and pain of trying to have a baby for two years, almost giving up and then succeeding. I cried a little bit!”