Primary audience: Specialists and Doctors, secondary – other related healthcare professionals interested in women’s health and Pfizer field force.

All healthcare communications in Australia are governed by the Medicine’s Australia code. This code prohibits the advertising of prescription medication directly to patients. Our campaign was not directed at patients so this did not impact our communication. Either way, the campaign was unbranded so this regulatory limitation was not relevant.

The fan had been a common and cliché advertising device associated with relieving the hot flushes associated with menopause.

In order to make a play on competitor advertising we devised the “Abandon Fan” concept. The idea centres around the notion that patients could now abandon their fans because a new generation therapy was on its way.

We strategically placed abandoned fans outside medical centres, bus stops, drains, dumpsters in the bush and at the beach. These images were posted on social media. Mock editorial pieces ran in Australian Doctor to create a true sense of newsworthiness. An Abandoned fan mini feature film also ran as in-line video across key Healthcare Professionals digital platforms.

The campaign ran for a very short time, only 2 weeks prior to product launch to ensure that it was current and newsworthy just before launch. The timing in the case of this project was actually a challenge as January is traditionally a quiet media time for doctors as many are on holidays over the January period. With a February product launch looming we only had a very small window with which to tease the market. Placement of the teaser campaign included rep teaser cards as direct mail with all product orders, front cover banner advertising in Australian Doctor, mock editorial in Australian Doctor over 2 weeks 27/1/17, 3/2/17 and inline video which ran across Australian Doctor website 27/1/17, 3/2/17. An installation of fans was placed at key Pfizer conferences to evoke the interest of Pfizer sales force and health care professionals.

The "Abandoned Fan" teaser campaign was a multi-channel, fully integrated teaser initiative that was delivered via print media,mock editorial, inline video, direct mail, social and experiential. It covered various touch points targeting key audiences at a critical time before a major product launch. It was a very significant campaign for the category which had no new news for over a decade and represented an exciting evolution in the treatment of menopause symptoms.

The strategy was to tease the market pre- launch about a next generation therapy in menopause. The audience was receptive to any new news or information in this class as there had been no news for over a decade.

Following the negative press in 2003, HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) became an unpopular solution in the management of menopause symptoms. Few effective alternatives were available which essentially left many women with no treatment for their symptoms of menopause.

For over a decade there had been no news in HRT or any real developments in this therapeutic class.

Before we launched our campaign for the next generation menopause treatment (Duavive) we wanted to disrupt the market and prime healthcare professionals and Pfizer sales reps with an un-branded teaser campaign.