An independent evaluation published by the Scottish Government on 9 October says the “Be the Early Bird” early-detection campaign reached 95.2% of its target audience. The audience was adults aged 40 and over in Scotland’s more deprived areas; paid media reached 1.22 million people, with an average of 17.7 opportunities to see or hear the campaign. Four of five measured objectives were met or exceeded.

The online survey found prompted campaign recall of 69%, above its 65% target, and 71% of campaign recognisers said they took action as a result. The share saying they were very likely to contact a GP after noticing a possible cancer symptom was 61%, matching its target. One objective narrowly missed: 55% disagreed that they would avoid finding out about cancer because of concern for family, against a 57% target. The findings come from independent pre- and post-campaign online surveys; the evaluation does not establish changes in diagnosis or health outcomes.