Female-oriented A+P dominates Nicholas Hall’s APAC Awards

CHC Insight’s Senior Editor, Nicola Allan, summarises the Creative Marketing Award winners from last week’s Nicholas Hall’s APAC e-Conference:

• Winner: Kalbe Consumer Health’s Mixagrip in Indonesia

The growth-driving campaign for Indonesia’s No.1 OTC systemic cold & flu remedy was centred around the idea that work and family pressures, climate issues and the pandemic make the “sandwich generation” tired and susceptible to illness but they cannot afford to miss a day of work. This led to the #AntiSkipHari (“No Skip Days”) initiative, which began with TV ads for Mixagrip and was expanded – in collaboration with creative company Ideacultura – with a digital video that recognises the pressure of daily responsibilities, plus offline marketing including posters on commuter trains and murals created by local artists. Kalbe’s goals were to help consumers avoid having to take time off work through illness, dispel the belief that cough & cold remedies cause drowsiness and fight back in a competitive category where rival brands focus only on TV and digital marketing

• 2nd place: ZP Therapeutics campaign for Physiogel in the Philippines

In 2020, a year of reset and self-care owing to the onset of Covid-19, ZP Therapeutics revived Physiogel following a hiatus from the spotlight. A digital campaign shared the message that only Physiogel contains BioMimic Technology to strengthen sensitive skin and make it soft, which led to the concept of “Strength in Softness”, a celebration of the gentle strength that women possess. From this, the Physiogel sisterhood (SiS) emerged including Strong Skin Stories sessions on Facebook Live featuring influencers and skin care experts. In 2022, the campaign was expanded with the SiS Days Out programme, where women who donated empty skin care bottles to be recycled were given tickets to free Physiogel wellness & pampering events. These strategies led to consumer reach far exceeding expectations and an above-average brand engagement rate

• 3rd place: Sanofi’s Ostelin in Australia

Australia’s dominant vitamin D brand was supported by “Ostelin Project Strong”, a campaign based on the idea that “Strong isn’t what a woman does. It’s who we are”. Sanofi partnered with visual media company Getty Images to showcase hundreds of photos of women that show a broad interpretation of women’s strength with the aim of enticing the younger generation and encouraging them to think about bone health without disenchanting the core 55+ target audience. Ostelin Project Strong, which boosted brand sales and share, also partnered with the 100 Women charity to support its mission of empowering women in various aspects of life

Nicholas Hall Writes: The Awards were of a very high standard and since we added the 5-minute case studies from companies showcasing their campaigns, the number and quality of entries have increased every year. We shortlisted four entries for online voting by delegates, not including the Special Award winner, Bayer China’s Canesten. The three campaigns shown above were worthy winners, but I’m going to give a special shout-out to a non-winner, Sanofi Korea’s Dulcolax for “K-Poop Star”. The case study showed a 360° campaign that attempts to break the taboo of constipation. Sadly we weren’t shown Dulcolax’s Tik Tok digital ads, which are some of the best I’ve ever seen, and absolutely in line with K-Pop culture as a way of reaching a younger target audience. Turning K-Pop into K-Poop is just brilliant.

Put your campaigns in the spotlight when you enter for our CHC Marketing Awards, to be presented during Nicholas Hall’s 33rd European CHC Conference in London on 19-21 April. For more information on entry criteria, or to book your place at this conference and save with the early bird booking discount, please contact elizabeth.bernos@NicholasHall.com.

BAYER SETS OUT KEY SCIENCE-LED SELF-CARE PRINCIPLES

Bayer’s Science-Led Self-Care: Principles for Best Practice sets out five key principles that should underpin all self-care products improving health & wellness. The paper is intended to spark a conversation within the industry and stakeholders around the need to promote science-led self-care for the benefit of consumers. In the wake of the pandemic and the rise of accessible, digital information, consumers are becoming increasingly interested in maintaining and managing their own health. Enabling this shift means they will need to trust that the choices they make are the best.

Bayer’s five Principles of Science-Led Self-Care are the:

• Science of the Human: Self-care products rooted in a thorough understanding of human biology, medical insights & unmet needs

• Science of Regulation: Independent regulation to ensure safety & efficacy through transparent communication, accurate labelling and supported claims

• Science of Collaboration: Carefully judged collaborations focused on win-win outcomes can help improve access to self-care, making products available more widely and empowering more consumers to take charge of their health

^{Source: Bayer’s Science-led Self-Care report}

• Science of Discovery: Self-care products that have been rigorously researched, founded on scientific principles & developed with a deep understanding of consumers’ unmet needs

• Science of the Consumer-Product Experience: A seamless experience beginning with the initial search for information, continuing through to the physical interaction with the product itself that helps better use self-care products

Comment from Bayer CH Chief Scientific Officer, David Evendon-Challis: For many companies like Bayer engaging in science-led self-care, these principles will already be a part of their process. These are what set science-led self-care products apart. We look forward to kicking off a robust discussion with industry peers, health and medical professionals, policy makers and consumers about how these principles can continue to evolve to contribute to better health for all.

Sharpen your skills and develop your understanding of Self-Care at the forthcoming CHC Training Academy workshop in Bucharest on 26 October. This will be followed by a free 1-day conference, hosted by RASCI, focusing on Health Literacy, opened with a keynote speech from Nicholas Hall. To register, or for more information on group booking rates, please contact elizabeth.bernos@NicholasHall.com.

APAC E-Conference 2021 Awards

Commenting on our recent APAC e-Conference 2021, Nicholas Hall said: “This was a highly successful conference, with over 100 participants, but I can genuinely say that I hope it’s our last of this kind as I can’t wait to get back to face-to-face meetings next year in Athens, New Jersey and Singapore.”

• The Nicholas Hall APAC Marketing Award 2021 was decided by delegates and The Winner was GSK’s “Panadol Take Care” campaign, which resulted in “record-breaking” market share and consumption growth. The campaign comprised two key elements: education on post-vaccination pain & fever and the role of Panadol in providing suitable and efficacious care for these symptoms. In addition to TV, promotion included traditional media channels; partnerships with Pandamart, Uber and Grab offering 30-60 minute delivery services for post-vaccination symptom management; social media activity; an online expert care portal; strong in-store visibility; a Take Care Chatbot; and out-of-home ads close to vaccination centres. 

• 2nd place: Redoxon (Bayer) The “Ces Before Cus” campaign was implemented in Indonesia to help the vitamin fight back against increased competition during the pandemic and help consumers “be new normal ready” by boosting immunity and giving them more confidence when carrying out daily activities in the Covid era. “Ces” is the noise that Redoxon makes when dissolving in water and “cus” is Indonesian slang for “Let’s go!”

• 3rd place: Eye-Mo (Combiphar) Following a return to the Singaporean market in 2017, it was noted that Millennials did not have a strong connection with the brand. Combiphar turned this around with the growth-driving “I See What I Want” campaign, fronted by teen singer Aden Tan, which aimed to empower the younger generation by helping them rebound from negativities and see “the brighter side of life”.

Review the full proceedings from our APAC e-Conference 2021 conference by purchasing a copy of the event recording. For more details, please contact elizabeth.bernos@NicholasHall.com.

Ad Watch: 2020 A+P Trends

Two advertising stories caught our attention this week. First was the news that P&G is no longer the world’s No.1 advertiser, with Amazon taking the top spot, according to Ad Age, which publishes an annual list of the largest marketing spenders. The online retail giant spent US$11bn on A+P in 2019, 34% ahead of 2018, when it ranked fifth. P&G was placed second, with US$10.7bn in ad spending in its fiscal year ending in June 2020, while L’Oréal came in at No.3, spending US$10.3bn in 2019. Ad Age notes: “2020 ad spending figures for top marketers are going to be depressed – with exceptions for some advertisers that increased spending to take advantage of market opportunities amid the coronavirus pandemic.”

Secondly, Contagious published its review of the biggest trends in advertising and the best campaigns of 2020. Among the Top 25 campaigns of the year, there were several healthcare & beauty brands listed, including RB’s Dettol, backed by a huge social media initiative on TikTok (#HandWashChallenge) in India. According to Contagious, the campaign involved some of India’s biggest influencers and generated over 125bn views on Dettol’s TikTok page.

Another campaign highlighted was Bayer’s support of Berocca in Vietnam, an A+P initiative that we also profiled earlier this year. Working with digital agency Carnival, Bayer devised the Get Supercharged at 2pm campaign, creating a TikTok music video and encouraging people to post videos of themselves copying its dance moves by offering prizes for the most views. This led to 70,000 videos being created by people participating in the #BeroccaMango2PM hashtag challenge. The campaign directed users to e-Commerce platform Shopee, where they could purchase Berocca bundles and combos. Online sales rose 223% compared with the same period the year before, according to Bayer, while offline sales also increased 32%.

Various beauty brands also featured in the Contagious roundup of the Top 25 campaigns of 2020, most notably P&G’s Dove, which was backed by a Courage Is Beautiful campaign at the height of the pandemic, highlighting the strength and resilience of frontline healthcare workers. The Contagious report also cited recent YouGov research that places both Dettol and J&J’s Tylenol among the Top 25 Best Global Brands 2020 in terms of consumer awareness.

You can review innovation by region and country, including a review of the most active marketers globally in terms of NPD, in our recent report from CHC New Products Tracker, Innovation in CHC. This report also highlights ingredient and delivery format trends, showcases 100 innovative products in 2019, plus much more. For further details, or to order your copy, currently available with a 30% discount until 31 December, please contact melissa.lee@NicholasHall.com without delay. 

Allergy: NPD, switch & naturals power growth

While many of the leading CHC marketers reported declines for their cough & cold portfolios in Q3 2020, the performance of allergy remedies was more mixed, with notable variability by region. For example, Bayer reported rising sales for its Allergy & Cold portfolio in North America in Q3, partly driven by increasing sales for key allergy brand Claritin, which was boosted in early 2020 by the US launch of Claritin Non-Drowsy Chewables in a new cool mint flavour.

Likewise, Perrigo reported a strong performance for its Consumer Self-Care Americas unit in Q3, with increased OTC demand powered by allergy, pain and digestive health products. For Sanofi, while overall Allergy, Cough & Cold sales declined in Q3, portfolio sales were up in the USA, thanks to key allergy brands Allegra and Xyzal. Sanofi also launched its drug-free AllerLife range in the US market in early 2020, adding further fuel to the fast-growing naturals niche among allergy remedies.

Outside the USA, by far the world’s largest market for OTC allergy remedies, two countries that are performing very well are Germany and Brazil. Rx-to-OTC switch has been the driving factor in both markets, with various allergy ingredients – fexofenadine, ebastine and desloratadine – switched to OTC status in Brazil in recent years. As for Germany, after the switch of levocetirizine, which led to several OTC launches in April 2019, desloratadine was subsequently also approved for Rx-to-OTC switch in February 2020.

In October 2020, the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted a positive opinion recommending a change to the terms of the marketing authorisation for Ratiopharm’s desloratadine, potentially paving the way for an EU-centralised switch to non-Rx status for the allergy ingredient in the near future. Indications will be limited to adults only and the urticaria indication will be restricted to chronic idiopathic urticaria as initially diagnosed by a doctor.

Discover which marketers and brands stand out and how Covid-19 is impacting sales in our newly published Cough, Cold & Allergy report! Allergy remedies are just one of the many categories covered, alongside profiles of 10 major markets, forecasts and much more. For more information, or to order your copy, please contact melissa.lee@NicholasHall.com.

Digital strategy: Examples from China

In Sanofi’s recent Q3 earnings call, new head of Consumer Healthcare Julie Van Ongevalle said the company’s CH operation had “untapped potential”, and that her previous experience in the beauty industry would help with the strategy of leveraging consumer insights and maximising the digital and e-Commerce channel. In this week’s blog, we summarise three examples of innovative digital strategies by three companies (Alibaba, GSK and Bayer) operating in China.

Alibaba has kicked off its 11.11 Global Shopping Festival with new features to meet rapidly-changing consumer needs. These include the participation of Alipay’s digital lifestyle platform, broader consumer reach, as well as livestreaming technology creating more engagement for Chinese consumers, and with the largest international presence to date. A new sales window will be added from 1st-3rd November, ahead of the main event on 11th November, to provide merchants – specifically new brands and small businesses – the opportunity to showcase their products and tell their brand stories amid the pandemic. For many brands, 11.11 is the single biggest growth driver. This year, more than 2mn new products will be introduced, double the amount compared to last year.

OTC marketers are also building ties with local digital shopping platforms in China. GSK CH and Dingdang Kuaiyao have agreed a new strategic co-operation, which will utilise their R&D and data capabilities to drive growth and improve consumer access to healthcare products. Initially, the companies will focus on the concept of “Internet + Medicine” and work together to build brands and content, as well as consumer traffic and experiences. In 2021, the collaboration will cover brand awareness, global marketing, consumer trust and consumption scenarios. The news comes a month after GSK CH became an Alibaba “digital captain” after agreeing a joint business plan with its marketing technology platform, Alimama.

In addition, under a strategic co-operation agreement with digital shopping platform Meituan, Bayer CH aims to become a full-service healthcare solutions provider to help individuals better manage their own health. The businesses will work with 20+ chain pharmacies to integrate online and offline healthcare products and services by exploring digitalisation options, expanding consumer services and developing a new era of pharmaceutical retail. The co-operation aims to reach consumers more efficiently under the “new normal”, which has resulted in growing public awareness of healthcare issues, rising demand for healthcare products and a change in consumption habits, with online purchasing increasing significantly.

We are pleased to announce the next round of savings in our special Q4 promotional event, running until the end of the year! Plus, for November only we are offering a 25% discount on annual subscription rates for our combined CHC.Newsflash and CHC.NewDirections news service! If you would like additional information on any of our publications or subscriptions, or would like to place an order, please contact Melissa.Lee@NicholasHall.com

Q2 company results: Key trends & developments

With all Top 6 CHC marketers and several important mid-tier companies having now reported their Q2 results, it’s a good time to analyse some of the key consumer health trends that have emerged in the second quarter of this turbulent year. Most notable is the downturn in Europe’s CHC market in Q2 2020, after an especially strong Q1, while North America’s CHC market has proven to be more robust so far. Also of note is the strong rise in e-Commerce sales for several CHC marketers.

Europe: Medicine cupboards already stocked

Marketers with well-developed CHC portfolios in Europe reported how “destocking” of medicine stores built up in Q1 had impacted regional OTC sales in Q2. GSK reported low single-digit decline for its pain portfolio in Q2, largely the result of this pantry unloading trend and the weak performance of Voltaren in Europe. Likewise, Sanofi reported a 13% decline in CHC sales in Europe in Q2, citing “consumer destocking” and low pharmacy traffic as key contributors to the regional fall.

Bayer, reporting on the wider EMEA geography, said regional sales fell 8.2% in Q2 after strong consumer stockpiling in Q1, with Allergy & Cold and Digestive Health the two categories most affected. Likewise, Mylan reported a 6% fall in its sales in Europe in Q2, as did several smaller CHC marketers, including Boiron, which recorded a 21% quarterly decline in sales in France owing to fewer doctors’ appointments and pharmacy visits.

North America: J&J and P&G benefit from geographic mix

Bayer and GSK both reported dynamic VMS growth in the region in Q2, while Sanofi cited the “strong spring allergy season”, which boosted its Xyzal brand, as a factor in better Q2 sales in North America compared to Europe. Marketers with CHC portfolios more focused on the US market performed well, notably J&J, which reported a 10.7% rise in OTC sales in Q2 thanks to strong growth of Tylenol and Zarbee’s Naturals.

Like J&J, P&G benefits from a clear geographic focus on North America, and reported strong growth in the region in Q2 as a factor behind the double-digit rise in sales of its Personal Health Care portfolio, with Vicks and several other brands gaining share. Other CHC marketers with a particular focus on the region, including Perrigo and Church & Dwight, also reported stronger quarterly results in Q2 compared to competitors.

e-Commerce: RB and Nestlé report high growth

Another factor in rising organic CHC sales for Perrigo in North America in Q2 was continued robust growth in e-Commerce, more than offsetting category declines owing to lower brick & mortar foot traffic. Two other marketers that cited the impact of e-Commerce in their Q2 results were RB and Nestlé. For RB, e-Commerce sales rose by 50%+ and now represent 15% of total Health net revenue, while for Nestlé e-Commerce sales grew by 48.9%, reaching 12.4% of total sales.

Are the leading CHC marketers investing in e-Commerce? Do they have online platforms for their brands? Find out in our report Digital Marketing & e-Commerce: Tapping the Potential of Online Sales and Digital Promotion in Consumer Healthcare.  To order your copy, or to find out more, please contact melissa.lee@NicholasHall.com.

Q4 update: Middle East & Africa highlights

One key feature of your CHC DASHBOARD subscription is exclusive reporting on the consumer healthcare market in the Rest of World region, predominantly the Middle East & Africa. This dynamic region now accounts for almost 7% of the global CHC market, and produced continued strong growth in 2019, with sales up 7.0% to total US$9.6bn. Three countries in the region – South Africa, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – rank 20th, 24th and 25th respectively in terms of CHC market size.

Company Watch: Unsurprisingly, dominant global No.1 GSK is the leading CHC marketer in the region, as it is in all regions except Latin America. Multinationals Sanofi, Bayer and RB also feature in the regional Top 5, and each of these companies produced growth in 2019 in excess of the regional average of 7%. South Africa’s No.1 CHC marketer Adcock Ingram is the only local company to feature at the top of the rankings, while Abdi Ibrahim sits just outside the Top 5.

Category Watch: Strong growth for analgesics (+8.1%) and Derma (+8.1%) helped ensure the region’s impressive rise in 2019. Three of the Top 5 regional analgesic brands – Panadol, Voltaren and Grand-Pa – are marketed by GSK, while RB markets another of the Top 5 regional CHC analgesic brands, Nurofen. As for Derma, a strong upturn for the leading dermatologicals category in the region, wound healers (+11.9%), was powered by Bayer’s Bepanthen / Bepanthol and Madecassol brands.

Brand Watch: Thanks to M&A activity in recent years, GSK now markets four of the Top 10 brands in the region, with No.3 Otrivin and No.8 Centrum added to the company’s existing key brands, Panadol and Voltaren. RB also markets multiple brands in the regional Top 10, with analgesic Nurofen, antacid Gaviscon and sore throat remedy Strepsils all featuring at the top of the rankings. However, the fastest-growing brand in the Top 10 in 2019 was Galderma / Nestle’s eczema & psoriasis treatment Cetaphil.

We are pleased to announce that Nicholas Hall’s CHC Yearbook 2020 is now published digitally, with print copies landing on desks next week! With the latest facts & figures, it offers the most up-to-date and fully-informed picture of the CHC industry around the world. To order or explore digital licence and multiple copy discount options, please contact melissa.lee@NicholasHall.com.

CHPA Report & Conference

Last week, to tie in with its Annual Executive Conference (AEC), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association released a white paper that found, on average, every dollar spent on OTC medicines saves the US healthcare system around US$7.20, resulting in nearly US$146bn in savings annually. CHPA President & CEO Scott Melville commented that the “healthcare system undervalues the contribution of our industry’s products”, and explained that the research will support legislative initiatives promoting financial incentives for consumers to buy OTCs using health insurance flexible spending plans.

Done in partnership with IRI, the study was conducted in part to raise the profile of OTC products in USA. It found that around 90% of people who buy an OTC product for a condition would seek medical care if the OTC product had not been available. The study analysed nine OTC categories to identify the primary contributors of cost savings to the healthcare system. The categories include allergy, analgesics, antifungals, cough / cold / flu, lower GI, medicated skin, upper GI, sleep and smoking control. The research showed that OTC medicines provide additional value through expanded access to more than 27mn consumers who would otherwise forgo treatment – more than 13mn Americans for allergies alone.

Writing from Florida, Nicholas Hall said: “Trust was a major theme of CHPA’s Annual Executive Conference … Edelman presented data showing that consumer trust of healthcare is improving after plummeting last year. Speakers agreed that trust goes beyond building brands. In a session I moderated on Tuesday, Bayer CH President Heiko Schipper said that our industry needs to, “articulate better what we do. We are doing a lot of good things like being responsible for the environment and employee diversity”.

Taisho Executive VP Ken Uehara agreed: “Trust can’t be built instantly, certainly for our company, it’s our most important asset.” Alan Main, Executive VP, Sanofi, commented that in the past it was about building the brand: “I still think the brand comes first in people’s minds, but we have to look after the brands, not just for five years but for 30-40 years.” Katie Devine, who is moving into a new leadership role at J&J, said companies can choose not to reply to every tweet, but should maintain a fact-based conversation about being responsible in the treatment of employees, the population and planet.

Other questions I addressed to the Leadership Panel concerned the lack of Rx-to-OTC switch (Alan Main said switch has an important role to play in the future of self-care); CBD (all panellists believe it will develop well beyond the current US$500mn quoted by IRI, although Katie’s point, “I know how to switch from Rx to OTC, but not from illegal to legal”, was well taken); and the number one item on their wish list — speed to market and improved innovation were favourites … I liked the concentrated format of this year’s AEC, with two half-day sessions, which allowed time for networking, and was proud to have been one of three Preferred Sponsors of the meeting, in the good company of Google and the Emerson Group.”

Nicholas Hall will discuss the latest Market Trends and Innovation impacting the CHC market at our annual North American CHC Conference (26-27 June) in collaboration with our partners EverythingHealth. As well as the chance to network with other industry players, you can hear from Google, Jefferson Health, Persuadable Research and other industry experts. Don’t hesitate — book before 31 March to save with our generous early-bird booking discount! To find out more about this event, please contact elizabeth.bernos@NicholasHall.com.

Perrigo to revive flagging OTC allergy sales?

According to the latest MAT Q1 2018 data, global growth of OTC allergy remedies has slowed to just +0.2%, compared with a rate of +3.7% in the year-ago MAT Q1 2017 period, and +10.3% in the MAT Q1 2016 period. A drop-off in Rx-to-OTC switch activity has been a key factor, so last week’s news that Perrigo has signed an agreement with Merck & Co for exclusive rights to market, sell and distribute a non-prescription version of Nasonex (mometasone furoate monohydrate) in the US will be a welcome boost for the category.

Financial terms were not disclosed and the deal is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Nasonex is currently available on prescription only in USA, where it is marketed by Merck & Co. The corticosteroid anti-inflammatory nasal spray is indicated for the treatment of the symptoms of seasonal allergic or perennial allergic rhinitis in people aged 18+ years. In those markets where the product is available OTC, such as Australia, it is marketed by Bayer.

Perrigo has often been first to launch private label equivalents of recently switched OTC brands – generic versions of Flonase and Zegerid OTC were launched in 2016, while a copy of Nexium 24HR was launched by the company last summer – but this deal marks a new phase for Perrigo into switching brands.

As Perrigo Executive VP & President, Consumer Healthcare Americas, Jeff Needham, commented: “This product in-licence is the first of its kind for Perrigo. As other similar products that have previously switched from prescription to OTC status, we are working diligently to bring this important product to consumers and customers more quickly than the average 5-year OTC switch timeframe. This strategic investment into the OTC category creates an innovative product offering for Perrigo. We expect to execute the Rx-OTC-switch, fully penetrate this market with a branded offering and provide a future store brand alternative.” 

Comment from Ian Crook, Managing Editor, Nicholas Hall’s Reports: Nasonex enjoys dynamic growth in the handful of markets where it has been switched to OTC by Bayer and generated sales of US$23mn in 2017 (+28% CAGR 2013-17). In the brand’s largest market, Australia (where it switched in 2014), award-winning advertising helped it build a strong presence among consumers; it ranked 4th with sales of US$10mn (+5%) in 2017, comfortably the No.1 in the nasal sprays segment. How the brand will fare in the USA — if and when Perrigo successfully navigates the switch process — remains to be seen. Nasal steroid switches in the USA have historically driven high growth among allergy remedies, but later arrivals like Nasonex are unlikely to make as big a splash as previous INS switches.

Perrigo is one of the Top 20 OTC players profiled in the 2018 version of our bestselling OTC YearBook. This essential annual report also gives an extensive, up-to-date overview of the OTC industry across the globe, including reviews of M&A activity, Top 15 markets and major OTC categories, plus much more. For more information or to order your copy, please contact melissa.lee@NicholasHall.com.