Instead of fighting fire with fire, Zyrtec is fighting allergy season with flowers and fashion.
The Kenvue allergy brand has rolled out a 360-campaign leaning into cultural and design elements inspired by spring blooms.
The effort began with a partnership with floral artist Lewis Miller. An in-person activation took place on May 7 at the Union Square subway station in New York, complete with Miller’s Flower Flash pop up.
The activation was supported by giveaways to media, influencers and consumers as well as ad-buys with Outfront Media.
It’s estimated that the Flower Flash resulted in 3,000 branded floral giveaways gifted and reached more than 72,000 commuters throughout the day with more than 130 social placements.
Jenn Lovell, head of U.S. allergy at Kenvue, said putting on an activation in an underground transport hub aimed to highlight the campaign’s purpose of brightening up typically dull places and reminding people of Zyrtec’s 24-hour symptom relief.
In addition to working with Miller, Zyrtec unveiled its debut fashion collaboration with designer Tyler McGillivary: the Bloomcore Collection.
The fashion items — including spring essentials like a flower market tote, a t-shirt, a pullover as well as a tank and skirt set — went on sale on Thursday and are available while supplies last.
Additionally, the brand teamed with celebrity fashion stylist and Zyrtec user Law Roach for a social media-focused push to support the Bloomcore Collection.
As exemplified by working with Roach, Zyrtec recognizes the value of leveraging influencers to improve its medical marketing efforts.
Lovell acknowledged that while allergy marketing traditionally favored a more broadcast, linear TV approach, the brand has adapted to how consumers prefer to receive information about health and wellness.
“Historically, it’s been about who’s the fastest, who lasts the longest and everybody is sort of doing the same thing,” she said. “We’ve done a nice job of starting to have the conversation to be more social, more influencer-led.”
She added that the brand took a concerted effort to ensure its programming and communications focused on the consumers and their needs rather than Zyrtec.
Allergy marketing has continued to evolve as a whole, ratcheting up the competition that Zyrtec faces in the field.
Last spring, Flonase teamed up with the Netflix hit Bridgerton for a timely, cheeky social media campaign playing off the name Polin — a portmanteau of the show’s main characters’ name — ahead of the season three premiere.
Additionally, Zyrtec’s fashion-forward campaign was unveiled days after rival allergy brand Allegra announced a partnership with IndyCar driver Marcus Ericsson and the Andretti Global racing team for the No Brainer campaign.
Lovell said Zyrtec, like its competitors, wants to show up in a unique way in the OTC space, which means it’s critical to differentiate the brand and its value proposition for consumers.
To achieve this, the Kenvue brand worked with its cross agency partners to ideate and execute on a campaign that required significant planning and logistical considerations.
Zyrtec was supported by Hunter for public relations, Weber Shandwick for social and influencer work as well as Doner for overall communications and strategy.
As the allergy treatment category moves towards more consumer-centric and differentiated marketing strategies, Lovell said the brand plans to keep the needs of consumers front and center.
She noted that Zyrtec’s new packaging — made from 100% paper — reflects consumer feedback and sustainability efforts, while maintaining the product’s efficacy.
In some ways, it’s a physical representation of the brand’s ongoing efforts to stay relevant and consumer-focused.
“Our mission is always to not only help allergy sufferers survive the season, but also show how it’s possible to thrive,” she said.
This story first appeared on MM+M.
