Cancer Research UK is targeting a young female demographic with a new mass participation event, encouraging women to raise money by having a night in with their friends.

The IN Thing is targeting women in the 25 to 45 age bracket, but CRUK expects men to also have interest in the campaign.

Sophie High, head of innovation delivery at CRUK, said: “Our initial intent was to develop an idea that would give women who aren’t attracted to sports-based fundraising a way to engage with us, but also give women who have participated in other challenges such as Race for Life a new fundraising option.

“Women are a key audience for us so we developed the idea of a girls' night in because it empowers them to join the fight against cancer by doing something that’s collective and fun.”

The mass participation event has been in planning for months at the charity, and is being promoted primarly in London and the Midlands via radio ads and train panels.

In promotion for The IN Thing, CRUK says that the timing for girly nights in is perfect, coming ahead of the Christmas party season and coinciding with popular television series such as The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing, which may provide a backdrop for friends catching up. Hosts are asked to collect donations from attendees, and are encouraged to engage in a variety of activities, from dinner parties to karaoke nights.

The event bears a passing resemblance to Macmillan’s ‘A Really Good Night In’ campaign, which similarly appealed to women to have a girly night at home with friends to raise money for the charity. Macmillan raised £1.25m from the event in its inaugural year this April. It’s not the first time the two huge cancer charities have run similar events this year; Macmillan’s Go Sober for October campaign to get people to attract sponsorship for a month of alcohol abstinence drew many comparisons to CRUK’s Dryathlon, which challenged its supporters to do precisely the same in January.

CRUK would not share targets for fundraising or event participation numbers.