CASE STUDY: Sanofi-Aventis highlights 'dark secret' in Australia

Aim
In 2010, Sanofi-Aventis wanted to educate Australian consumers about vitamin D deficiency and in doing so, position itself as a leader in the crowded vitamin category in Australia. In a market dominated by home grown vitamin favourites such as Blackmore’s, and Wyeth’s Centrum brand, Sanofi-Aventis was challenged with finding a unique point of difference for its vitamin D campaign in order to achieve visibility with consumers.

Execution
The communications solution was to surprise consumers by highlighting an unexpected problem in winter in Australia – vitamin D deficiency due to the lack of sunlight. To give credibility to the claim, third party experts were enlisted to talk about the health risks associated with vitamin D deficiency. And cleverly, the launch was timed for the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year with the least hours of sunshine. The campaign provided an opportunity to outline the overall health benefits of vitamin supplements, and position Sanofi-Aventis’ vitamin D supplement — Ostelin, as one potential solution to this vitamin deficiency problem. A creative tag line 'Australia’s dark little secret' was adopted to ensure the campaign grabbed the media’s interest.

Results
To further maximise the chances of media coverage, the press materials were tailored to specific at-risk groups such as pregnant women, the elderly and post-menopausal women, with relevant third party experts used as spokespeople.  On the launch day, a feature spot was secured on the Sunrise Breakfast Program to kick-off the news for the day. This led to widespread national media coverage in broadcast (TV and radio) and print media on the launch day, and strong, ongoing coverage throughout the winter in magazines. This resulted in increased awareness of vitamin deficiency in winter and the role and benefits of vitamin supplements in reducing health risks.