I came across a Twitter profile called, ‘LetsDecongest‘ recently, from a retweet by Mansi T (@media_reveries on Twitter). It mentioned that Otrivin, the nasal decongestant brand from Novartis, gave away 2,292 saplings over the weekend.
I searched online and found a Facebook page as well, with about 1,800 likes since July 2, when the page seems to have started.
There are many things that make this an interesting exercise.
1. Globally, pharma and healthcare brands are bound by laws and rules on advertising and Novartis’ Otrivin using a theme that intelligently communicates its USP (nasal decongestant…let’s decongest) is a very smart thought! Nasal decongestants are usually over-the-counter drugs and may not have severe restrictions on advertising, but given the recent issue over use of Facebook by Novartis, this seems like a very subtle and indirect approach.
2. Surprisingly, there is no microsite to explain what the campaign is about. It is added as one of the tabs in the Facebook page, making it an integrated destination on Facebook alone.
3. The Info tab on Facebook does not call it the ‘Let’s Decongest’ page – it is actually called ‘Otrivin Fan Page’. The page’s unique URL is, however, facebook.com/letsdecongest!
4. The first update in the page is not by Let’s Decongest, but by an Otrivin employee (from the marketing team). The first official update by the page moderator is on July 15, while the first post by the employee is on July 2, and it cryptically says, ‘I like the page’. Possible reason to assume that it started as an in-house initiative without the support of an agency that can guide them on things like these.
5. There is an online engagement idea too – send a virtual sapling to your friends! It’s simple and effective, and needless to add, potentially viral!
6. The content is consistently relevant – on environmental issues and the cities where Otrivin is giving away free samples.
7. There doesn’t seem to be much push for the Twitter page and it’s quite alright, since the main push seems to be on Facebook, given the viral possibilities with the app.
8. On Twitter, I found them getting RTs from some social media/ad agency types, leading me to believe that, half-way through, or at some stage, an agency may have joined hands for the digital part. Good for them, since that would only help them grow.
This is a fantastic example of how an otherwise standard CSR campaign of giving away free saplings can take on a new, viral avatar using social media. It’s early days, but Novartis has got the basics right – good, meaningful cause that is relevant to their brand and product. Combined with offline activities that are happening all across the country, if they perhaps use paid media (which they may have, seeing the 1,800+ members on Facebook, in 1.5 odd months) appropriately, they could raise awareness to the cause and eventually, to their product. Also wonder if they have anything planned to convert this traction into sales, either offline or online, since that may also be one of the ROI metrics, internally.