Product Marketing for a Maine Pharmacy
A Case Study
The Product
Browntail Moth Rash is a very itchy rash, similar to poison ivy, and occurs after having contact with the toxic hairs of the browntail moth caterpillar. The prescription spray was the ideal remedy.
The Challenge
Increase sales of the prescription spray
The Solution
Expand the reach and improve the customer experience
The Results
Increased total script sales by 58% over the previous year
We had heard stories about perfect evenings in springtime and summer, along the coast of Maine, being disrupted by something called browntail moth rash. A family was invited to have dinner with friends who live along the coastline. The sound of the turbulent ocean gushing up against the rocks could be heard, mixing with the bubbling, boiling kettle of lobsters over an outdoor fire. Inside, corn on the cob was placed on the dinner table as everyone was seated.
Stories of the noticeably dry summer last year were shared and questions about this year’s rainfall were raised when someone started to scratch their arm. They noticed a red rash they hadn’t seen before. It really bothered them. They tried not to scratch it. It got worse. Much worse. The evening wasn’t what they had hoped it would be. They had to go home early to try to find some relief. They couldn’t sleep through the night and complained of having trouble breathing.
Browntail Moth Rash is an itchy and uncomfortable rash, similar to poison ivy, that occurs as the result of direct, or indirect contact with the toxic hairs found on the browntail moth caterpillar. These microscopic hairs can be airborne and are found everywhere in browntail-infested areas including trees, lawns, gardens, decks, and picnic tables.
The rash has become increasingly common in Midcoast Maine and the surrounding areas during the spring and early summer months. For most people, browntail moth rash will last for a few hours up to several days. In severe cases, it can last for several weeks.
The browntail moth caterpillar has tiny poisonous hairs that cause dermatitis similar to poison ivy on sensitive individuals. People may develop dermatitis from direct contact with the caterpillar or indirectly from contact with airborne hairs. The hairs become airborne from either being dislodged from the living or dead caterpillar or they come from cast skins with the caterpillar moths.
Most people affected by the hairs develop a localized rash that will last for a few hours up to several days but on some sensitive individuals, the rash can be severe and last for several weeks. The rash results from both a chemical reaction to a toxin in the hairs and a physical irritation as the barbed hairs become embedded in the skin. Respiratory distress from inhaling the hairs can be serious.
Caterpillars are active from April to late June. Hairs remain toxic throughout the summer but get washed into the soil and are less of a problem over time.
We had traveled up to Augusta, Maine, to the headquarters of Kennebec Pharmacy to present our digital marketing plan to a team of 10 executives. When it was over, we were presented with their top priority, a time-sensitive issue as Browntail moth season was about to begin in a month. That meant our advertising needed to hit in two weeks to give the marketplace time to connect with our message. We got right to work on it and followed our common process.
Strategize/plan, design/ build, implement, measure, optimize
The first phase in our process is to set the goals of the campaign, come to deeply understand the market audience, and the product or service offering, conduct our research into past performance, and then prepare our strategy.
Then, we went into our design phase starting with writing up a plan for the production of all the assets. We then design a revised webpage, new landing pages, promotional images, header images, etc.
