CASE STUDY: CURE CHILDHOOD CANCER
Client Challenge
CURE Childhood Cancer is a well-known nonprofit in the Atlanta area, but at the time their growth was limited by how they connected with audiences. Most of their donor base had been personally impacted by childhood cancer. For those who hadn’t, CURE’s main marketing approach - photos and videos of children with cancer - could unintentionally create distance instead of empathy.
Focus groups revealed that the recurring “bald baby” imagery was often a turn-off for people who weren’t already connected to the cause. To expand their reach, CURE needed campaigns that would engage unaware audiences without losing authenticity.
The Narwhal Approach
As the lead on the account at Between Pixels, I guided CURE through a new creative strategy. We realized they didn’t just need taglines; they needed awareness campaigns that would draw people in through universal stories first, then connect them to the mission.
Two campaign directions emerged:
Fight for Us – A September Childhood Cancer awareness campaign featuring healthy, happy children who explained that kids shouldn’t have to fight - but not enough people are fighting for their health. This message reframed CURE’s mission as a call to action for everyone.
Change Their Story – An end-of-year campaign centered on the idea that cancer may be part of a child’s story, but it doesn’t have to be the final chapter.
Creative Execution
Fight for Us launched during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, combining video and voiceover to invite new donors to “fight for” kids who shouldn’t have to fight cancer themselves. It resonated widely and grew CURE’s reach beyond previously engaged audiences. It also had multiple lengths of deliverables allowing for versatility in ad placement.
For Change Their Story, I concepted, co-directed, and edited a three-minute wordless video. It told the story of a lonely neighbor who bonds with a young girl through books, then later learns she is battling cancer. She donates to CURE and gives her a journal to “write her next chapter.” The video ended with a hopeful call to action: “Help children with cancer write their next chapter.”
We supported the video with an email campaign featuring children’s own imaginative stories about what they’d do when cancer-free. Subject lines like “A cow named Bruce living on a farm on the beach” stood out in inboxes, driving curiosity and clicks.
Both videos can be viewed in their entirity below. I’ve put the “Change their story” video first as it made the biggest impact.
Change Their Story:
Fight for Us:
Results & Impact
Change Their Story email campaign had a 75% email open rate (compared to industry averages of ~20%)
400% increase in engagement and clicks
End of Year Campaign ran for just 5 weeks and delivered CURE’s largest year-end donations to that date
Expanded donor base by connecting with audiences outside of those directly impacted by cancer
Key Takeaway:
Sometimes you have to tell a different story to stand out
By shifting from “bald baby” imagery to human-centered storytelling, CURE was able to broaden its reach, spark empathy, and inspire record-breaking giving.
