An amazing example of healthcare marketing activation
Our work should provoke some kind of action. It should make people feel something, do something, see something in a new light. Help them solve a problem beyond what they can do on their own. Ideally, in ways that are both simple and practical. Which moves them forward, moves brands forward and moves business forward. Otherwise, what’s the point.
Here’s an example of this kind of (industry-recognized) work. It’s from Grey Group Singapore which teamed with the NGO Neelvasant Medical Foundation and Research Center for client Talwar Bindi. The campaign, called The Life Saving Dot, turned bindis into “Life-Saving Dots.”
As background, millions of women (71 million plus) living in rural India suffer from diseases linked to an iodine deficiency. It has been linked to breast cancer, fibrocystic breast disease, and it severely affects the mental and physical development of babies in pregnant women.
While supplements in the form of pills are available, women weren’t getting or taking them. So, how do you help these women get the required dosage of iodine? When talking to doctors, Grey discovered that the problem could be solved by absorption through skin—this was their eureka moment.
The solution was the Life Saving Dot – an idea that transformed bindis (already worn by every Indian woman as a traditional symbol of beauty) into iodine patches. Every woman requires between 150 – 220 micrograms of iodine daily. These bindis dispensed that amount to the wearer daily.
The bindis were initially distributed at Neelvasant’s already existing network of medical camps, reaching 30,000 women. The next stage will see them produced and rolled out on a larger scale. Congrats to Grey on this amazing initiative.
How to build this kind of meaningful two-way activation? Here are five steps to get started:
- Isolate the real problem you’re trying to solve, rather than leading with the “supposed” solution
- Identify what drives (or not) customers’s attitudes, passions and behaviors
- Unearth all of your brands ambitions and possibilities
- Brainstorm possibilities at the sweet spot of #2 and #3 to deliver maximum customer value and competitive advantage
- Advance ideas that move customers forward, who in turn drive business forward