Content unified by a single vision can turn a small idea into a global movement. When two friends, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, decided to bring back the moustache in 2003, little did they know that their idea would spawn a global men’s health movement. Fast forward 12 years, and the Movember Foundation has raised $650 million, grown from 30 Mo Bros to over 5 million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas*, and singlehandedly dedicated a whole month to the growth of moustaches.
The Movember story, from its humble beginnings to becoming a worldwide phenomenon, is as fascinating as it is inspirational. With its commitment to content, the Movember Foundation is hoping to inspire even more people to get involved and change the face of men’s health forever.
Community-Driven Storytelling
The Movember Foundation’s vision is to “have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health”. To achieve this, they need to get people talking about the big issues. But men, generally speaking, don’t want to talk about their health problems. Community involvement was, and still is, key to Movember’s success. That’s why Movember uses their In the Barber Chair feature to put fellow Mo Bros and Sistas in the spotlight to share their personal stories. By curating the very best stories, the Movember Foundation inspires people to share their experiences with the Movember community; raising awareness, and encouraging more people to start more conversations about men’s health.
Creating Awareness Through Shareable Content
Even though fun is the main driver of Movember, the brand’s content strategy isn’t just about sharing countless images of moustache-clad faces across social media. Now that the movement has amassed a huge following, the Movember Foundation can educate its followers with key facts and statistics about men’s health. Take the below campaign, a sobering message presented in an accessible way. By using short and to the point copy, Movember provides participants with a stark reality check, while reminding them what Movember is about in the first place.
New Campaign, New Content
Even the stickiest movements need to reinvent themselves regularly, and Movember is no different. Every year the Movember Foundation creates a new campaign to re-engage its existing community and encourage more people to get involved. I spoke with the Movember Foundation about this and they told me this was always part of their plan. “For the best part of ten years now our tagline has been ‘changing the face of men’s health’ and although prostate cancer was our original investment area, from the earliest days we have sought to encourage men to engage in and take action on any aspect of their health.”
This year’s campaign is called MOVE. While MOVE marks a shift from prostate cancer awareness to physical wellbeing, it is also a chance for Mo Sistas to do something for their Mo Bros. Movember is no longer gender-biased, but all inclusive. Despite being a departure from their original brand image, the content around the MOVE campaign is still fuelled by a larger mission to “help men live happier, healthier, longer lives.”
By making our campaign and year-round messaging fun and disruptive we aim to open the way for more men to engage in and take control of their health – and that is something both men and women have recognised as an important and valuable step.
So put your shavers away, Movember’s here to stay.
* Mo Bro - A man who grows a moustache for Movember, or makes a commitment to MOVE
* Mo Sista - A woman who loves and encourages Mo growth, or makes a commitment to MOVE
