It's illegal in Russia for brands to advertise prescribed medication to end consumers, however they do run 'disease awareness campaigns' for end-consumers with master brand incorporation.

In 2014, Viagra, perhaps one of the world’s most iconic drugs, was faced with an expiring patent, increased and diversified competition and a shifting consumer profile. The brand needed to strengthen its unique position as a global icon in a rapidly changing landscape. The new design and packaging structure unlocks Viagra’s iconic equities for the first time, emphasising its premium credentials whilst creating impact and encouraging consumer engagement.

The goal was to reinvent the Russian Viagra brand design to reflect the evolving marketplace - making sure to retain current consumers whilst attracting new ones. Although traditionally the brand was targeted at +50 year old males, the target audience was shifting to a younger core consumer aged between 30-45 who were using Viagra as a lifestyle accessory. Although Russia had been long established as a country that valued 'real men', it had become increasingly open to embracing western grooming rituals and as a consequence, many of Viagra's consumers were now looking for reassurance rather than a cure for their medical ‘illness’.

The new brand and packaging design is powerful and dynamic, communicating performance in a modern and emotive way. We took inspiration from the trusted colour and shape of the Viagra brand, removed the pharmaceutical filter and reinterpreted it with a fresh lifestyle-led execution. The ‘V’ of the iconic brand name is subtly highlighted with a spot varnish and used as a vehicle to represent the problem of erectile dysfunction. At the same time, the A of the identity has become the focal point of communication, putting the spotlight on the solution and is the mark of confidence and reassurance. The new structure integrates an innovative perforated edge into the pack running through the ‘A’. This new ‘snap, crack, pop’ feature answers the need for immediacy, complementing consumer behaviour.

The new design is permanent. It launched in August 2014 and gradually rolled out across 8 SKUs in pharmacies until December 2014.

In an increasingly competitive and investment dependent market, Pfizer's ultimate goal was to slow down Viagra’s decline in units and as a result, a decline in value.

The new identity and design achieved this - slowing the decline by 3% percent compared to the same period the previous year (Dec 2012 - 2013 vs Dec 2013 - March 2014). In an already declining market and given the volumes 3% equates to, this is a significant result for the brand.

The decline continues to slow while market conditions are getting tougher - there are now 7 other generics on the market and the brand is also being impacted by growing pressure from herbal products which make a significant investment in advertising.

Our opportunity was to resolve the tension between Viagra’s medical expertise and consumer aspirations. In order to stand out from the newly established competition and reassure consumers that Viagra was worth its premium price point in the market, the design needed to release the brand’s iconic potential and the packaging design needed to act as a platform to communicate the product’s effect rather than the problem. One of our key insights was that consumers had, on average, 10-seconds between purchasing the product and consuming it, and so a key consideration was to create a product experience that would be as impactful and memorable as possible.

The new design and structure unlocks Viagra’s iconic equities for the first time, emphasising its premium credentials whilst creating an impact and encouraging consumer engagement.

As one of the world’s most famous drugs, Viagra is an iconic brand and had been a market leader in Russia for the 15 years since its launch.

However, in 2014 the brand faced a multitude of new challenges. Their Russian patient came to an end and as a result, they were experiencing increased and more diversified competition. In addition, their core consumer profile was shifting to encompass younger men who were using Viagra as lifestyle accessory - boosting their social confidence rather than curing a medical 'illness'.

As such Viagra had to strengthen its unique position in the market it had built.