Strategy
Modern human beings are operating in a non-static world that keeps shifting everyday. This phenomenon has even become more uniquely ubiquitous after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, an environmental crisis that has driven the emergence of consumer changes, which includes massive changes in priority, basic needs, behaviors and product expectations of consumers. Notably, consumers’ increasing interest in health benefits has posed a massive challenge but at the same time opportunity for companies in wellness industry since none of the players are reluctant to capitalize on this opportunity for profitability (Deloitte. 2021, The Vietnam Consumer Survey). Being a market leader in Vietnam pharmaceutical industry, Sanofi has been establishing its solid reputation of being one of the most highly trusted brands in the industry. In the context of rapid consumer and market changes, there were some key factors that Sanofi needed to act upon:
- Market: The media coverage at the time was being bombarded with Covid-19-related news (Google Trends). This phenomenon resulted in a universal lackluster about other infectious diseases that still have potential risks and require attention as well as proper prevention. Within this grand challenge, a critical question has arisen – how could Sanofi recreate the balance, or in other words, how to create content to captivate the lay public’s attention of other diseases generally and 6in1 specifically?
- Category: Despite its inevitable role, there is a consensus that vaccine is oftentimes perceived as a boring and “uncolorful” category. Under heavily restricted industry legitimacy, the industry peers oftentimes opt for communication modus operandi leading to mass consumers not being able to emotionally engage with the category. It is, therefore, presenting a significant call for Sanofi to propose new engaging approaches.
In sum, the existing societal, environmental and industrial context necessitates Sanofi to execute a communication wise that allows to foster commercial and marketing objectives while at the same time comply with industry legitimacy.
Insight
Insight 1: The extant Sanofi-backed campaign features moms as the protagonist as they clearly are principal safe haven and caregiver throughout their child’s early development stages – from newborn to preschool. As those who gave birth to their kids, mothers always feel heart-wrenching and tend to feel their child’s pain. When it comes to children vaccination, mothers are frightening to see reactogenicity which might hurt their little ones on where they get the shot, as well as some long-lasting side effects that might be left on their child. But soon after they are aware that vaccines protect their little ones by helping construct their natural defense do they realize that they should be a companion who helps their kids overcome their nervousness associated with vaccination. With this in mind, this campaign also aims at adding more fun factors to vaccination and rendering it to be a more fear-free medical experience, for both kids and moms. (Cimigo. A research for Sanofi Vietnam)
Insight 2: Another key factor was taken into consideration is the touchpoints where moms started to get info about vaccination for kids. 69% of mums follow HCP’s (health care professionals) advice on vaccination for kids. They also roll over many other sources of info such as WOM, social media as possible to get a sense of the vaccination world. The most discussed topics among moms and mom-to-be are: age indication, number of doses and origin. (Cimigo. A research for Sanofi Vietnam)
Insight 3: In a more immediate sense, video-based content has shaped the new communication game, whereby short-form content and live video streaming have gained popularity (We are Social & Hootsuite. 2021. Digital in Vietnam). This has propelled Sanofi to capitalize on this emerging digital-technological trends and to initiate a more engaging approach to emotionally get young modern moms on board, while at the same time being considerate of the “no-go” territory of disease communications.
Creative Idea
After ideating our communication directions and constructing our narratives (e.g., what and how to say, to whom to say, etc.), an exemplar of “6in1 mom” was conceptualized, which was inspired by the Sanofi vaccine’s name itself. More interestingly, the magical number 6 also symbolizes 6 distinct but familiar portraits of a super modern mom who is multi-tasking herself in multiple roles:
- A nanny: moms always taking care of their kid’s meals
- A singer: moms always singing their kids to sleep
- A teacher: moms being their kid’s very first teacher
- A tailor: moms taking care of their kid’s clothes
- A weightlifter: moms carrying their kids, while at the same time being able to take more loads
- A healthcare professional: moms being always in sight to provide a protective shield for their kids’health
The concept was subsequently manifested by two essential components:
- Song “Hanh Phuc Cua Me” by Bui Cong Nam. Nam, with his ongoing experience in composing communication music, employed some moving musical elements – metaphorical lyrics, chills-evoking melody, and some tingling sensation factors to deliver a communication key message as well as arouse audience’s psychological effects.
- Music Video “Hanh Phuc Cua Me” illustrates kids’ development stages from newborn to infancy, in which the role of motherhood is of great importance. Other branding elements, namely origin, colors, etc. were also effectively interspersed through the video in order to maximize Sanofi’s brand presence.
Connection Plan
Over the 2-month period, the campaign was operationalized in two phases across multiple digital platforms to draw public attention to vaccination against six infectious and communicable diseases.
Phase 1 – Raise awareness:
Phase 1 commenced with heightened communication attempting to draw moms’ attention to the urgency of protecting children from such the communicable diseases, Sanofi employed authority endorsement marketing thereby endorsing highly trusted health authorities who command a high degree of domain-specific expertise and public recognition. The concept of 6in1 Mom was first made publicly to general audiences through a livestreamed panel discussion conducted by Sanofi and VNE – the top 1 tier media outlet in Vietnam with the board members being Dr. Trương Hữu Khanh and Dr. Đào Nguyễn Phương Linh. The information of this discussion was earlier showcased on multiple social posts and PR articles published online and offline on different media outlets.
The discussion unpacked the concept “6in1 Mom” and emphasized why and how important it was to take care of children health. During the livestreaming session, key notes and highlights from the discussion were cross-posted in timely fashion on top-tier media outlets: VNE, Thanh Nien, Eva.vn and Hiểu về tiêm chủng. Phase 1 concluded with refined social posts with medical information of 6in1 vaccinations.
Phase 2 – Enhance awareness:
In order to echo the “Children Month” theme, Sanofi continued to accentuate and circulate the focal message – “vaccination is the best present that parents can give to their children” through the ubiquity of the music video and the song “My 6in1 Mom” on over the Internet. To add more amplifying effect to the campaign, the launching of campaign was supported by series of ex ant and ex post social media posts created by Bui Cong Nam, multiple KOL moms and other large fanpage. Multiple versions of short-form videos were also generated to spread out the campaign presence on Facebook, Youtube, and Tiktok.
More specifically, we recruited macro-KOL moms being Giang Oi and Bao Thanh (they are both moms of children within the vaccination age range and are popular in both the South and the North). We collaborated with large community pages being Kenh14, Afamily and Eva.vn – all act as conduits connecting moms across the nations. We ensured that all the published information in this phase was authorized by Sanofi’s medical experts, and all were driven to Sanofi’s “6in1 tips for Moms and Kids” – a downloadable medical handbook in order to accentuate the great importance of sufficient and on-time vaccination. The campaign also leveraged organic voices by organizing an internal challenge for Sanofi’s team to create halo effects for the music video, where they again create content under the “6in1 mom” theme. We further reinforced the campaign through a chain of PR articles.
Objective – Base KPI
The Sanofi’s “6in1 Tips for Moms and Kids” Handbook resulted in positive statistical traction. From a broader social standpoint, this campaign has lent a massive support to society, in a way that helps upgrading societal attitude and knowledge of infectious diseases, as well as the critical roles of vaccination against those communicable diseases. This campaign effect is unique especially after Covid-19. The pandemic has left people in heightened uncertainty and anxiety; and vaccination is no exception. Most of these concerns stems from people oftentimes being overwhelmingly bombarded with others’ opinions about health, infectious diseases and infection prevention. All of this information has caused uncertainty about vaccination, and people are worried about the short-term adverse reactions and long lasting negative effects, which later might lead them to delaying or refusing vaccination and thus risking their health. This campaign has posed a wake-up call for everyone in the society about proactive actions that each can do to protect themselves and their loved ones from diseases.
