When a racehorse wearing a highly controversial nasal strip struck national headlines, we knew we struck gold; that’s if we could successfully insert the widely known, but very misunderstood Breathe Right™ nasal strips brand into the frenzied media conversation. With the next race 20 days away, we raced out with fully integrated communications that helped turn the conversation from how equine nasal strips help horses to breathe better and race better in the Belmont Stakes, to how humans could breathe better and sleep better in "The Bedtime Stakes” with Breathe Right™.

The work included sponsorship of the nationally televised race, PR to engage and educate the media, a bespoke TV ad plus onsite activation, sampling and social media.

We won by a nose: 1 billion impressions, double-digit sales increases, all on <$500k, giving the brand the horsepower to sustain positive growth for the rest of the year.

•From May 20th, samples and fact sheets went to top-tier media outlets to educate broadcasters on Breathe Right™

•June 4th: Sponsorship of Belmont was announced in an exclusive deal with USA Today

•June 5th: Revealed we were also sponsoring California Chrome’s owners, helping refocus media attention on human nasal strips

•GSK team members conducted interviews with media outlets at the race track prior to the race to explain why Breathe Right™ nasal strips were so effective

•Bespoke TV ad, featuring a jockey in the race for a good night’s sleep, played out locally & nationally during the race.

•June 7th: 3 branded areas at Belmont: sampling and access to experts to answer questions

oThe social media team captured photos and encouraged people to share selfies using the campaign hashtag, #breatherightbelmont

oThe Belmont partnership included: souvenir program print ad, track digital display, prominence on Belmont social and website pages

Business Impact

•Sales +37.9% vs +10% objective, and momentum was maintained weeks after the race

•Attracted new users +13.7% (vs same period in 2013)

•Increased loyalty of most valuable heavy users - up from 35.8% to 43.1%

•50,000 samples delivered at Belmont

•Online sampling +40%

Action

•Facebook engagement rate significantly above norm (4.49%, CPA $0.12)

•3,200+ proactive tweets on and leading to the Belmont Stakes

Output/Awareness

•Top-tier national earned placements including USA Today, Forbes, Good Morning America, LIVE! with Kelly & Michael successfully inserted the brand & benefits into the larger media conversation about nasal strips

•131 positive original placements. 6 spokesperson interviews conducted

•Overall 1 billion impressions (938MM earned media, 29MM TV, 7.2MM total social media) vs 21MM objective

Knowledge

•Heavy amplification of original stories increased the overall reach of original stories by 228%. Key messaging delivered in 100% of coverage. Educational product messaging in 40% of coverage