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Boots is launching its first long-term behaviour change campaign aimed at getting consumers to shift from a GP-first mindset to a pharmacy-first mentality.<\/p>\n
The long-term creative platform \u2018Pharmacists Everywhere\u2019 is also designed to shift perceptions of Boots from a healthcare retailer to their first port of call for all their healthcare needs.<\/p>\n
Boots UK interim marketing director Laura Gooday describes the campaign as a \u201cnatural evolution\u201d of the retailer\u2019s increased focus on healthcare over the last few years, which has seen the promotion of Boots Online Doctor and its vaccination services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe increased focus, the increased share of voice, the increased media investment that we\u2019ve had behind healthcare has given us the confidence and now\u2019s the start of a transformative journey,\u201d says Gooday.<\/p>\n
Boots is launching its first long-term behaviour change campaign aimed at getting consumers to shift from a GP-first mindset to a pharmacy-first mentality.<\/p>\n
The long-term creative platform \u2018Pharmacists Everywhere\u2019 is also designed to shift perceptions of Boots from a healthcare retailer to their first port of call for all their healthcare needs.<\/p>\n
Boots UK interim marketing director Laura Gooday describes the campaign as a \u201cnatural evolution\u201d of the retailer\u2019s increased focus on healthcare over the last few years, which has seen the promotion of Boots Online Doctor and its vaccination services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe increased focus, the increased share of voice, the increased media investment that we\u2019ve had behind healthcare has given us the confidence and now\u2019s the start of a transformative journey,\u201d says Gooday.<\/p>\n
She explains Boots has shifted to an \u201calways on\u201d strategy in recent years as healthcare is \u201cneeds-based\u201d, as the retailer sees itself \u201cworking shoulder to shoulder with the NHS\u201d.<\/p>\n
The campaign comes as research from Boots reveals 40% of people feel like a burden to GPs and 49% say the time it takes to book and go to a GP appointment makes them put their health on hold.<\/p>\n
Pharmacists Everywhere cannot be wallpaper. It needs to disrupt. But that\u2019s one of the most fun things about it.<\/p>\n
Laura Gooday, Boots<\/p>\n
During her 17 years at Boots, Gooday has been on a \u201cpersonal mission\u201d to showcase the brand\u2019s \u201cincredible ecosystem\u201d in healthcare. From a marketing perspective, this means the team is \u201cspoiled for choice\u201d with regards what to show the public.<\/p>\n
The different marketing teams across the business work closely,\u00a0Gooday explains, their job being to \u201cconnect the dots and create customer-led parts of our propositions\u201d.<\/p>\n
The seeds for Pharmacists Everywhere were planted when the NHS Pharmacy First service launched in January last year, allowing community pharmacists to provide treatment for some common conditions without a GP visit. This allowed Boots to promote the role its pharmacists could play, with the retailer\u2019s chief superintendent pharmacist taking part in some of its advertising.<\/p>\n
The new integrated campaign will run for four weeks across a suite of channels, including TV, radio, digital OOH, print, social, digital, in-store and online. This campaign also marks the first time Boots is using its own pharmacists in above-the-line materials.<\/p>\n
The TV ad humorously shows Boots pharmacists popping up to offer advice for a range of issues in unexpected places as people start to get symptoms. The ad closes with the line: \u2018You\u2019re never too far from a pharmacist\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can intervene to support people earlier, there are massive benefits to be had,\u201d says Gooday.<\/p>\n
She describes Boots\u2019 healthcare work as the \u201cclearest articulation\u201d of the retailer\u2019s wider brand purpose of \u2018With You, For Life\u2019.<\/p>\n
Through Pharmacists Everywhere, Gooday hopes to capture people\u2019s attention with the light-hearted tone of voice, which she says the team \u201cpushed\u201d to remind consumers of the \u201cpersonal side of a big brand like Boots\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know it\u2019s really hard to get people\u2019s attention full stop in the world of marketing, but even more so on healthcare. That\u2019s half the battle, getting people to tune in, to distract them from what\u2019s going on in their day-to-day, to tell them something that can genuinely help. Showing up in a light-hearted way can help,\u201d says Gooday.<\/p>\n
She acknowledges that healthcare marketing in general has moved towards a light-hearted approach, as providers are \u201cgoing beyond functional and into the emotional\u201d.<\/p>\n
Social proof<\/p>\n
The brand is using partnerships, whether that be with influencers or pharmacists, to get the message across.<\/p>\n
Gooday describes social proof as a \u201creally powerful way to change behaviour\u201d, adding that you need \u201cthe most powerful mouthpiece\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that when people come in and experience these pharmacy services that we offer they have an amazing experience, and they will do a lot of the job for us,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
The marketing will also have a reactive element to help with \u201cembedding pharmacists into culture\u201d, whether that be print ads that react to headlines in \u201cunexpected ways\u201d, pharmacists appearing on podcasts, 7am radio pushes before the 8am GP call queue, or weekend takeovers when GP surgeries aren\u2019t open.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to give our channels real creative licence to play around with that concept and do something really different,\u201d says Gooday.<\/p>\n