Théa Pharmaceuticals
Driving OTC eye care sales and profitability in pharmacy
How do you choose your eye drops? Most of us rely on visual cues, brand familiarity or symptom-base labelling. As a leading global ophthalmology brand, Thea’s eye care formulations are the best in the world, but they aren’t as well known by consumers.
We brought more emotion into their pharmacy comms with a creative strategy that put the customer first. This helped Théa improve window presence, increase footfall, educate on potential symptoms and identify products on-shelf.
Interpret + Define
The UK OTC (non-prescription drugs) sales revenue is around 3.3 billion each year. With more people seeking to self-care, this represents a huge opportunity for ophthalmology brands in pharmacy.
To understand Théa’s target market more clearly, we began with a deep dive into three audience types: 1) existing customers 2) new customers and 3) staff in pharmacies and optometrists.
Next, we developed our engagement strategy. Each audience has a slightly different focus. For existing customers, we wanted to remind them that they’re already making the best choice, so we introduced a quality mark: Trusted by Eye Care Experts.
When it came to new customers, we focused on recognising symptoms and making the connection with choosing the right product.
Finally, our communication to HCPs was centred on education around potential symptoms and signposting to the Théa brand.
Imagine + Create
Théa didn’t feel their current strapline was compelling enough for a consumer audience. This was our starting point.
We explored a range of creative options feeding into the key brand benefits: professional recommendations, expert formulations and people you can trust.
Our proposition was ‘Théa Loving Care’ which fit perfectly with their preservative-free formulations that are designed to be kinder to eyes.
‘Théa Loving Care’ is more than just a clever campaign headline; it’s a mindset that can be applied to Thea’s products, relationships, behaviour and values. It brings a caring tone to an otherwise clinical subject.
We developed a series of window posters featuring our target patients and their potential symptoms, such as Dry Eye. Which led customers to the hero products, Thealoz® Duo, Blepha® family range and Blephaclean® Baby.
From exterior posters to in-store POS, this gave customers a clear purchasing journey from shop window to product selection.
Rise + Shine
The client was thrilled with the creative execution that clearly drives customers into store and towards the right product for their eye problem.
Pharmacy customers who took the Théa TLC merchandising pack saw incredible YOY growth with 154% increase in Thealoz® Duo sales, 116% increase in Blepha® Family sales and 16% increase in Blepha® baby sales.
The brand creative idea is now being applied to all customer touchpoints and continues as the basis of Théa’s campaign cycle.
In a highly regulated industry where tone needs to balance legal requirements, this campaign struck the perfect balance, helping to drive footfall, raise brand awareness and improve trust in an oversaturated, busy category.