Challenge
1 in 3 Malaysians had high cholesterol but weren’t aware of it. This could lead to serious heart problems. But due to low awareness, they didn’t see the need to consume Nestle Omega Plus (NOP), a powdered milk that effectively lowered cholesterol. As a result, NOP sales were stagnant, which was a key challenge for the brand. NOP needed to make Malaysians realise their cholesterol problem and choose NOP as the solution. Not just that, NOP also needed to become a credible authority in the heart health space.
Insight
NOP realised that the most effective way to shake the nation into becoming aware of an issue was through media, credible authorities and key opinion leaders. Consumers would be convinced to make a purchase they were shown the crucial ‘heart facts’ – in other words, their cholesterol measure. Once people realised they had high cholesterol, they would be open and receptive to products offering the solution to their problem.
Solution
NOP’s strategy was to turn its point-of-sale communication into engaging cholesterol-check booths and move them up the shopping journey i.e. before shoppers entered the hypermarkets. This highly customised Point-Of-Sale campaign allowed NOP to identify individuals with cholesterol problems before they started their shopping journey. This helped the brand connect with Malaysians deeply and offer NOP as the solution to lower cholesterol.
Cholesterol-check stations equipped with the latest gadgets to produce instantaneous cholesterol results were set up at 320 of the busiest grocery stores in Malaysia. Health professionals, nutritionists and product experts performed the cholesterol checks, answered questions, provided credible advice and ultimately offered NOP as a solution. NOP was also sampled and sold on-location to close the deal. A database of people with high cholesterol was created for future engagement and follow-ups.
To credibly position NOP, the brand partnered with Malaysia’s largest print publisher – the NSTP Group. NOP brought together NSTP editors with various heart health experts and the accredited Heart Foundation of Malaysia to disseminated news on cholesterol and heart health. The initiative led NOP to dominate the highly publicised World Heart Day on September 29. The cover news and articles on World Heart Day were so convincing that editors and readers signed up for a 30-Day program to lower cholesterol. Their progress in the cholesterol-lowering program was published over the course of two months. All articles raised mass awareness about heart disease and even doubled up as education tool for doctors and pharmacists for their patients.
Results
The in-store activation campaign had over 50,000 Malaysians examine their cholesterol levels, making it the largest cholesterol-check ever witnessed in South East Asia. Over 80% of Malaysians who took the test purchased NOP and this resulted in a 44% uplift in sales. Brand consideration rose from 19% to 42%. As a direct result of this in-store campaign, NOP’s market share hit the highest record ever for the brand at 35%.
NOP’s brand saliency (top-of-mind awareness) in the ‘heart health’ space more than doubled to reach 87% by the end of 2011.