Pain is a burden that affects us physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. However, patients aren’t getting the support they need from health systems, potentially causing physiological distress and depression.

Pain is subjective and personal; improving discussions is an opportunity to improve patient outcomes (long-term pain-relief and management).

The brief : Stimulate pain discussions, engage pharmacists with consultation strategies, optimise interactions in time-pressured, transactional pharmacy environments.

Patient objective:

Better pharmacist–patient dialogue and relationships, thus better patient outcomes.

Marketing objective:

Build a reputation of trust for Haleon within the pain category, showing commitment to supporting pharmacists with thought leadership, communication skills, and practical tools. Establish Haleon as a leader in pain management and everyday health ; positive opinion affecting predisposition to (appropriately) recommend Panadol, Advil, Voltaren.

Communications objective:

Raise awareness of the burden of untreated pain. Help pharmacists understand why patients may not discuss pain, and develop consultation skills.

Pain is never just one word. It’s a story that needs to be heard. HCPs need to understand the person behind the pain so they can recommend personalised management strategies.

The concept and context of pain, in addition to its impact on quality-of-life, can be expressed in many words, thoughts and feelings that sit behind the symptoms. The idea is to represent people in pain as individuals, not exaggerated clichés: individuals who are unable to express their pain to a pharmacist.

The ‘words’ on the face represent how pain affects the person,; and the impact on quality-of-life (even the variable nature of pain that can change daily). The imagery allows tailoring to demographics, pain type, and local market nuances; encouraging local market adoption, recognising pain is not ‘one size fits all’.

This is the first above-brand campaign for Haleon, reflecting the company’s voice and look, while creating its own stamp.

Haleon believes pharmacists are catalysts for change and, since COVID-19, their role has expanded. Access to GPs is difficult and waiting times have increased. Pharmacists are pivotal in diagnosing, triaging, treating and managing pain.

9/10 pharmacists agree their role has evolved, requiring greater expertise in influencing behaviour/self-care. Having an adaptable campaign for global markets beyond the Gulf/Near East was important: an inclusive campaign that experts were comfortable putting their names against (educational in tone, not brand promotional).

Pain is different for everyone. Not only the sensation, but our threshold, the social mores, perceptions, triggers, and impact on quality-of-life. Pain is subjective and difficult for patients to describe. Despite its prevalence, there remains stigma and inertia in expressing/treating pain, resulting in increased burden. In pharmacy training, little time is spent understanding pain/on interpersonal consultation techniques for its management. #ListenToPain fills that gap, giving pharmacists confidence and skills to start a conversation.

Groundwork started with the Global Pain Index (largest study of its kind, 19,000 people, 19 countries). Outputs provided a deeper understanding of pain and led to the #ListenToPain ‘pain profiles’: five patient profiles based on patients’ attitudes and behaviours towards pain management. Helping HCPs understand the person behind the pain, with actionable insights for time-poor pharmacies, enabling better conversations and outcomes.

The Gulf/Near East was the first region to launch in January 2023 at DUPHAT, the largest pharmacy conference in MENA. Using a booth and symposium with experts, the target audience was engaged in a credible educational format.

Expert thought leadership stimulated interest with practical advice on how to approach pain consultations, conducted in an interactive learning environment. Five webinars followed, live and on-demand, over the next month, available through the HaleonHealthPartner.com learning hub. Also providing downloadable in-pharmacy patientcare tools.

#ListenToPain launched at the largest pharmacy conference in the Middle East and North Africa (DUPHAT) in Dubai, January 2023. The strategic launch event gave exposure to the campaign, stimulated interest, had the credibility of introducing Haleon, and immediate engagement with key experts at a symposium. There were over 2,500 visitors to the Haleon booth and over 550 attendees at the #ListenToPain symposium.

There was unprecedented registration for the Haleon Health Partner Platform to access webinars, thought leadership articles and downloadable patient care in-pharmacy tools.

35% of pharmacists in the region attended the #ListenToPain webinars in only 1 month.

As a result, in 8 weeks since the launch of the campaign, over 400,000 patients are expected to benefit on a weekly basis in the Gulf/Near East; a further 12 local countries are scheduled to launch between April and October with more to follow.