Background
Pneumococcal disease kills more than one million children throughout the world annually. In October 2005, GH Singapore worked with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to launch Prevenar – the world’s first pneumococcal vaccine effective for children under two years – in Singapore. The Singapore team developed and implemented a highly successful, integrated communications program which was awarded a certificate of excellence at the Asia Pacific PR Awards 2006 in the Healthcare: Ethical category. The team also won the 2006 Golin Award (the internal GolinHarris awards program), Healthcare category, and was one of the five global Best of Agency finalists.
Objectives
Introduce Prevenar to prescribers and to parents
Increase awareness and understanding of pneumococcal disease to empower parents to seek information/ask for Prevenar from their doctors/paediatricians
Campaign
Media Launch (October 2005) – Prevenar was launched at a press conference, with a leading infectious diseases specialist and paediatrician presenting research emphasizing disease prevalence, its cause and consequences, and the benefits of vaccination with Prevenar.
PAW Media Launch (May 2006) – GH in Singapore later expanded the campaign by executing Singapore’s first Pneumococcal Awareness (PAW) campaign, organised in partnership with the Singapore Paediatric Society (SPS). The campaign was launched at a press conference with the SPS, a parent-advocate who lost his son to pneumococcal infection, and a celebrity advocate who pledged to vaccinate her kids. In addition to the media launch, the PAW campaign included direct-to-parent activities – educational exhibits; fun-filled skits to entertain kids while engaging parents; distribution of “pledge-of-support” badges; street level guerrilla marketing using “Ambassadors” to spread the messages; and a campaign hotline to address queries regarding pneumococcal disease and vaccination.
Ongoing Communications (October 2005 – August 2006) – Throughout the campaign period, an ongoing media outreach effort, with medical spokespersons and parent-advocates, continued.
Outcome
Excellent media coverage that highlighted key messages in 100% of local dailies and broadcast and key parenting, lifestyle and medical media.
Prevenar achieved good sales growth, month-on-month. In particular, the PAW campaign generated significant increase in Prevenar sales during the campaign period.
The PAW campaign was recognized by Wyeth's Asia Pacific regional representative, who called for the campaign to be a benchmark for the region.
Taiwan Dentists Given an “Extra” Fun Booth at Industry Show
The "Extra showgirl team" provided sample packs and interacted with dentists throughout the show venue.
Each year the Association for Dental Sciences of the Republic of China holds a three-day “Annual Scientific Meeting and General Assembly.” Wrigley Extra approached GH to help create an innovative outreach campaign for the dentists joining this event.
The Taipei team suggested designing an Extra booth at the industry trade show in order to maximize outreach. GH recommended decorating the booth as a large tooth to draw interest, and then supplement the visitors with “Extra” materials.
Showgirls placed “Extra Cool Cards,” featuring information about Extra, on cars in the venue parking lot.
An “Extra showgirl team” provided Extra sample packs to as many dentists as possible as they walked around the venue. In addition, GH directed the showgirls to place “Extra Cool Cards”—featuring information about Extra and a cool cartoon design to attract children—on cars in the venue parking lot.
GH designed an interactive game for dentists entitled “Show Extra, Get Extra.” The game successfully attracted the attention of dentists, especially those with children. GH also advised Extra to adorn the booth with giveaway materials, including Extra marketing materials, Extra Cool Cards, Extra magnets and “Extra Handy Bags.”
The Extra booth was a success, with more than 2,100 of the 3,500 dentists participating in the trade show visiting the booth. The team distributed over 2,000 sample packs to visitors
DHL Off to a Flying Start in Japan
Mr. Guenter Zorn, Senior Vice President-North Pacific, DHL Express Asia Pacific and representative director/president, DHL Japan, Inc. is flanked by Mr. Alex Lau, general manager, commercial, and Mr. Mitsuharu Yokoyama, area representative Japan, both of Air Hong Kong.
On the morning of October 29, DHL’s now-famous white-and-yellow Airbus A300-600 freighter flew into Nagoya’s Centrair International Airport for the first time to service the firm’s brand-new Nagoya Gateway facility, located adjacent to the runway. GolinHarris was on hand to make sure the event got the attention it deserved.
Braving cold weather, 13 journalists—representing the Nikkei, Japan’s premier business newspaper, as well as the country’s top three dailies and local television stations with nationwide networks—witnessed the arrival of the aircraft and off-loading of cargo inside the state-of-the-art facility. Journalists even had the chance to board and inspect the DHL plane.
GH also arranged for exclusive interviews with Guenter Zorn, senior vice president of North Pacific, DHL Express Asia Pacific and representative director/president, DHL Japan, Inc. The news generated from the event was positive and highlighted DHL’s commitment to Nagoya and the Chubu region, one of Japan’s fastest-growing economic areas.
Creating a Logistics Buzz in China for DHL
DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific enlisted GolinHarris to develop media relations and enhance DHL's leadership in the area of global forwarding, aswell as announce the launch of their new logistics facility.
Whilst DHL is a familiar brand the world over, little is known about the company beyond their express service. DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific therefore enlisted the help of GolinHarris to develop media relations and enhance DHL’s leadership in the area of global forwarding, as well as announce the launch of their new global forwarding logistics facility at the Waigaoqiao Logistics Zone in Shanghai, China.
The Shanghai team leveraged national and regional media to act as a platform for promoting DHL Global Forwarding in China. The team arranged one-on-one and group interviews between the media and the CEO of Asia Pacific Global Forwarding, Peter Landsiedel, as well as senior representatives for the company in China. This arrangement helped to fully utilize the opening ceremony and press conference and provide media with greater opportunities to ask questions and better understand the business.
Because DHL Global Forwarding had low awareness among the media and public, developing compelling news angles for general media and targeting appropriate media were crucial to obtaining positive, in-depth coverage. The team elected to generate interest around DHL’s latest business developments and strategies, the benefits of the new center, recent movements and investments, and the company’s strong China focus. In the end, GH secured an impressive 35 media for the conference and a total of 70 positive articles with an equivalent ad value of US$215,365.
Taipei Helps Launch ‘Home Instead’ in Taiwan with Happy Seniors Survey
During the media briefing, a user of CAREGiver services shared his experiences.
To help Chunghwa Biomedical Technology (CBT) launch Home Instead Senior Care Service “CAREGiver” in the Taiwan market, GolinHarris developed a Happy Seniors Survey to learn more about the perceptions of older adults in Taiwan. As CAREGiver focuses on non-medical services such as medication reminders, entertainment planning and family history recording, GH advised CBT to expand the reach and interest of the questionnaire, thereby matching the CAREGiver brand values.
GH helped create and conduct a questionnaire delivered to parents aged 65+ and their children, aged 35+, in order to draw out interesting perception gaps between the two generations. To enhance the credibility of the survey, GH helped foster a cooperative relationship with Associate Professor Cheng, Department of Statistics, National Chengchi University.
The Taipei team then arranged a media briefing to launch the survey results. During the media briefing, an older adult who uses the CAREGiver service was invited to share his experiences and compare his current lifestyle with his life before using CAREGiver.
The strategy was a resounding success, as the survey and media briefing helped generate 42 clippings and an EAV that was 16.7 times the PR fee. More importantly, GH helped create a media discussion on a previously ignored topic: the health and well-being of older adults in Taiwan.
Levitra Sales Skyrocket in Hong Kong Following Campaign Launch
“Dramics” generated significant consumer interest and industry buzz.
This summer, Breakthrough reported that GolinHarris had won the retainer to boost sales and awareness of Bayer HealthCare’s erectile dysfunction (ED) treatment, Levitra, in Hong Kong. Following an extensive brand repositioning workshop, GH and client were moving full steam ahead with a creative campaign that was sure to get the town talking.
Then, in the Fall issue, GH announced that it had launched "Dramics"— storyboard-style episodes running in print publications that told real-life stories about ED in dramatic yet entertaining ways—and that the placements had already generated significant consumer interest as well as industry buzz.
Well, the preliminary results are in: Over the first three months of the campaign, sales of Levitra have shot up nearly 250% year-on-year!
The campaign recently turned heads when it featured prominently in the The Wall Street Journal Asia and Media, both reporting on its creativity and success.
Now, as the Dramics continue to run in popular newspapers and magazines across the territory, GH is stepping up efforts to generate media coverage and boost patient relationships. In late October, GH also helped BHC host a press conference announcing the results of two important studies: The “Asian MALES” (Asian Men’s Attitudes to Life Events and Sexuality) study, which offers important insights into the effects of ED on Asian men and how they and their partners approach the issue; and the CONFIRMED (COmparing vardeNafil and sildenaFil In the tReatment of Men with Erectile Dysfunction) study, which reveals that vardenafil (Levitra) demonstrated superiority to sildenafil (Viagra) in a number of commonly used efficacy measures. Approximately 25 media representatives attended the event, and coverage of the results was excellent.
The press conference was followed by a public forum that had been booked out just a few hours after the announcement of the event ran in daily papers. At this stage of the campaign, it is clear that Hong Kong men and their partners have received the message that Levitra is a preferred option for treating ED and improving their quality of life.
Media coverage featured prominently in The Wall Street Journal Asia in November.
The Levitra press conference in October revealed important medical findings.
Re-branding Helps LUX Shine in Taiwan Market
Asia pop queen Jolin Tsai was central to the campaign and wore a LUX diamond necklace to media events, concerts, and in her music video.
LUX, a skin- and hair-care brand under the Unilever group, relied on the Taipei office to create and execute a re-branding campaign delivering the key message “Own Your Shine” in 2006.
LUX already had a spokesperson contract with Taiwan youth idol and Asia pop queen Jolin Tsai, so the Taipei team decided to leverage Jolin’s popularity and ability to attract media by making her the centerpiece of the campaign. GH secured Jolin’s endorsement of the LUX brand during the filming of a music video, on TV shows promoting her upcoming album, in a free concert, and in two PR events. To link the LUX brand directly to Jolin, GH helped create an NT$5 million (US$152,000) diamond necklace spelling “LUX” for Jolin to wear in media events, concerts and even during a music video.
LUX “Own your Shine” rebranding campaign was a huge success, resulting in an increase in market share.
GH generated a total of 189 clippings (including 100 TV clippings), with a total EAV of USD 1.277 million, nearly 51 times the PR fee. Clippings mentioning the LUX brand name were an impressive 100%; 95% of all print and TV clippings featuring an image had clear exposure of the LUX necklace.
GH also helped LUX grab a 10.4% market share of hair products by value and 10.2% share by volume in July 2006, growing 14% and 4% year-on-year, an impressive result in this retail space. LUX also gained an 8.8% market share of shower gel products by value and 8.2% by volume in July 2006, growing 32% and 30% year-on-year (AC Nielson data, 2006 July).
GH Secures Exclusive Interview for VTech CEO on CNN
This year, longtime client VTech—founded and based in Hong Kong and one of the world’s largest makers of cordless phones and electronic learning equipment—celebrates its 30th anniversary. To help mark the occasion, GH arranged for CEO Allan Wong to be interviewed by CNN’s Andrew Stevens for a new weekly segment called “Boardroom,” which offers insights into the minds of business leaders. Previous guests of Boardroom include Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Corp., and Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop. During the interview, Wong communicated how VTech went from “a hobby into a billion-dollar business” and what he has learned since launching the company in 1976, including the importance of R&D to drive innovation and stay one step ahead of the competition. The interview aired on October 16 during World News Asia. For a full transcript click here.
Singapore Team Spreads Hope for Psoriasis Sufferers
Wyeth’s product ENBREL gives new hope for psoriasis sufferers.
The team in Singapore was recently tasked by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to announce ENBREL’s new indication for the treatment of psoriasis. ENBREL is a biologic agent for the treatment of immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Psoriasis is an incurable skin disorder which manifests as inflamed, scaly lesions that are extremely painful and can be disfiguring.
Working closely with Wyeth and securing the partnership of the Psoriasis Association of Singapore, the team leveraged World Psoriasis Day (WPD) on 29 October 2006 as a platform to create media interest in psoriasis.
The team conceived a series of activities focused on increasing awareness about the physical and psychological sufferings of psoriasis patients, and emphasising the need for patients to be equipped with information about new treatment options.
A “Hope for Psoriasis” tree, a platform for the expression of support for psoriasis patients, was a key highlight. Other activities included a picnic in the park, a direct-to-patient outreach event, and a worldwide petition to recognise psoriasis as a critical disease deserving international attention.
The press conference announcing the activities lined up for WPD and subsequent media outreach generated coverage in more than 70% of Singapore’s dailies. Stories were also secured on radio, in lifestyle and health magazines, and in online news portals.
