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vitafol

From Unknown to Branded Preference

We turned a successful product in an un-branded category into the only brand worth talking about among pregnant women. And we did it all on a very small budget.

CHALLENGE

Vitafol was the leading prenatal vitamin prescribed by doctors, but it was not a known brand among pregnant women. The product was stuck in a cluttered, low-involvement and mostly unbranded category. The lack of knowledge around Rx prenatal vitamins was resulting in first-time moms settling for an OTC option as “good enough.”

SOLUTION

We redefined the category in a way that gave branded preference a role. Through close-collaboration with pregnant women on BrandInformers™ and our brand-defining BrandRevelations™ strategic definition process, we uncovered a driving category insight and a category-limiting misperception around prenatal vitamins. The truth was that pregnant first-time moms want knowledge but feel anxious by everything new and unknown, so they focus on things that are more familiar to them, leading them to shy away from a conversation about the science of prenatal vitamins. Additionally, a huge misconception was uncovered — many women believe they only need Rx prenatal vitamins if they are at a higher risk of complication than normal, but in reality Rx PNVs are better for all expectant mothers. We knew that Vitafol had to address both these issues to win — appealing to women via a familiar subject (nutrition vs. science) and demonstrating that Rx is for everyone.

We distilled all our learning into a Vitafol brand blueprint, including brand essence, positioning, archetype and brand equity ladder. To bring the strategy to life, we used every creative tool we had to flip perceptions. So, rather than use the normal imagery that was soft, cuddly and clinical, we created an empowering, energetic campaign that put pregnant women (and their bodies) as the heroes of the story. The “Baby, Body, Ready” campaign was born, along with new packaging to live up to the brand promise.

RESULTS

29M

Targeted Impressions

+113%

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