Working with the existing brand identity, illumanize were asked to develop a new website and produce a series of videos to promote the service and guide cancer patients to safely exercise from home. We continue to manage and host the website, and produce content in a continuing effort to improve adoption of the service.
Active Against Cancer is an award-winning NHS service that provides exercise classes for cancer patients in the Harrogate district as part of their treatment pathway. In this emerging area, research has shown that exercise improves physical resilience, reduces the impact and side effects of treatment, reduces surgical complications and improves physical and mental wellbeing.
In recognition of their achievements, the Active Against Cancer team won the Excellence in Healthcare category of the NHS Parliamentary Awards for the North East and Yorkshire. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a pioneering service in our area — supporting cancer patients’ recovery and reducing the chances of recurrence.
One of the big challenges for Active Against Cancer is persuading patients of the benefits exercise and inspiring them to join. After the devastating news of a cancer diagnosis, managing treatments and other life-changing complications, the idea of taking regular exercise might seem secondary, and if people are new to exercise, a group class at the gym might seem daunting.
When feeling unwell and lacking in energy you might feel that resting is more appropriate, but the medical evidence suggests otherwise. The consultants at Harrogate & District Cancer Services and the specialist physical trainers and physiotherapists at Active Against Cancer understand that if patients can improve their physical fitness prior to treatment and continue to exercise afterwards they are likely to recover more quickly.
The team were unhappy with the conversion rate of newly-diagnosed patients and recognised the part played by their existing website which was outdated and failing to convey the key messages. There were also issues with the ongoing management of the site which they hoped to rectify with an active, reliable partner.
illumanize had been working with Active Against Cancer for some time, creating content for their social media channels, and we were delighted to be asked to create a new website from the ground up. We would need to restructure the narrative, and improve the patients’ journey from introduction to engagement and ensure accessibility at every stage.
There were other factors to consider. During a patient’s cancer journey there may be times when they are too poorly or vulnerable to attend Active Against Cancer’s classes in person, so how could we provide guidance for exercising at home in a safe manner? And, as a relatively new concept within the NHS, the team have unique experience in facilitating exercise for patients with a stoma or PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter) — would it be possible to share their experience with other healthcare professionals?
The team were also keen to express the benefits of being part of the NHS, with access to medical records and treatment pathways, to differentiate the service from competing external organisations.
We wanted to convey the depth of positive emotion that was so evident when we spoke to the Active Against Cancer community, so it quickly became clear that video would be key to the success of the project — the most powerful persuasion would come from the patients, trainers, physios and consultants themselves.
We arranged to interview five patients with a range of experiences. Our interview technique is relaxed. With minimal equipment and a few prepared questions for a guide, we allow interviewees to express their thoughts with minimal prompting. By letting people talk freely and selecting the key moments later in the edit we are able to achieve natural interactions. Our content manager, Clare, is good at engaging people in conversation, while creative director, Pete, fiddles with camera, mics and lights in the background. Together we were able to generate compelling footage as patients opened up and shared their stories.
We also interviewed lead physical trainer, Steve Henwood, an experienced and passionate advocate of the service, whose enthusiastic words created a perfect voiceover. From our social media content archive, we also selected some previously recorded footage of consultants for an authoritative voice from the clinical perspective.
The website itself was arranged into sections for visiting information and directions, what to expect, an exploration of the available classes and more videos demonstrating ways to exercise at home – also created as part of the project. Finally, a further section was included to share the rationale and provide guidance for healthcare professionals.
The call to action was to join the service either as a self-referral or healthcare professional referral for patients, with online forms to complete.
The new website launched late last year and was quickly indexed by search engines. We submitted site maps and set up redirects from previous links to ensure no visitors were lost. A Google Business Profile was established to ensure all the correct information was included in search and correct mapping established. It is early days for the new site, but we continue to monitor progress and retain links with the team at Active Against Cancer to keep the content fresh and accurate.
Thank you so much to both of you for the hard work you’ve put in to this. The website looks amazing and is so much clearer, modern and fresh compared to the old website. The content and videos are just what we wanted. I am sure this will help convert some of our more reluctant patients to take up our offer.
My thanks to you and the team for your hard work. I think the website looks excellent and the story flows well. Great work 🙂
I think you guys have been great to work with!
