2024 Silver Health and Wellness

Agency: HH Global

Client: Alliance Pharmaceuticals

Entry Title: Say Hello to Hydromol

Executive Summary

Access to trusted drug Hydromol on NHS prescription was becoming more difficult, and launching over the counter posed a real challenge.

Strategy

Unless patients have used, or been recommended Hydromol by a dermatologist, they might not be aware of it. Established consumer brands dominate the sector with multi-million-pound marketing budgets.

The positioning to raise consumer brand awareness was Empowering Relief: Doctor Trusted, Patient Proven. Employing a digital-first strategy across platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and PPC, the campaign sought to reach as many individuals with eczema and psoriasis as possible and drive brand impressions.

Market research and social listening revealed three key potential early adopters: young women, parents of children with skin issues, and menopausal women experiencing skin sensitivity.

Creativity

Given pharma’s restrictions on targeting specific health conditions on social platforms, the team crafted detailed personas using demographic and behavioural data combined with affinity to generic dry-skin brands to ensure relevance. This drove reach among individuals most likely to be interested in the product. Tailored messaging and creative assets for each of the three groups, centred on Empowering Relief, to motivate product trial.

Phase 1 focused on achieving high impressions and broad reach to build awareness. In phase 2, the focus shifted to driving click-throughs and engagement. By retargeting users who had interacted with the content and targeting lookalike audiences, the team aimed to enhance awareness and consideration of the product on platforms including Amazon.

AI was integral: helping to process large volumes of data to identify top-performing content and guide budget allocation. This enabled swift data-driven decisions and campaign adaptations with fresh creative, ensuring it remained relevant and impactful. UGC and influencer marketing were used to build authenticity and trust.

Results

The campaign significantly raised brand awareness, with a total of 14.3 million overall impressions and more than 9.8 million unique users reached. Additionally, the work achieved 558,000 six-second views, indicating that a substantial portion of the audience engaged with the content.

The total number of click-throughs reached 78,000, demonstrating a significant level of interest and action taken by users in exploring Hydromol further. This metric reflects the effectiveness of the campaign in encouraging potential consumers to consider trying the product.

The reduction in cost per click week on week, combined with the increase in average click-through rate, further underscores the campaign’s success in driving trials while optimising advertising spend. The 5000% increase in brand term searches during the campaign indicates a remarkable rise in consumer interest and trust in Hydromol. The brand reached its first-ever £1m month in what is typically the worst period of the year, highlighting effectiveness in boosting sales.

The Team

HH Global - Graeme Garden, Creative Director - Aisling Green, Senior Healthcare Strategist - Jayne Marar, Senior Creative Copywriter

Alliance Pharmaceuticals Ltd - Sam Lands, Marketing Manager - Laura Burgess, Alliance

HH Global - Kelly Wright, Account Director - Florence Stirzaker, Digital Media Manager - Davina Harwood-Smart, Planner - Matthew Edwards, Designer - Steve Usher, Head of Motion Graphics