Walgreens: ARM YOURSELF FOR THE ONES YOU LOVE

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Integrated Campaign Led by Promotion and Activation

Advertiser: WALGREENS

Product/Service: FLU SHOT

Agency: ARC WORLDWIDE

Date of First Appearance: Sep 1 2010

Entrant Company: ARC WORLDWIDE, Chicago, USA

Chief Creative Officer: Bill Rosen (Arc Worldwide)

Creative Director: Michael Starcevich (Arc Worldwide)

Vice President/Creative Director: Devin Arkin (Arc Worldwide)

Creative Director: Tom Barker (Arc Worldwide)

Senior Vice President/Account Director: Leslie Meredith (Arc Worldwide)

Account Supervisor: Jennifer Costigan (Arc Worldwide)

Senior Vice President/Planning Director: Masha Sajdeh (Arc Worldwide)

Planning Supervisor: Karuna Rawal (Arc Worldwide)

Senior Vice President/Creative Director: Bill Reishtein (Arc Worldwide)

Associate Creative Director: Dave Tester (Arc Worldwide)

Copywriter: Dan Thorne (Arc Worldwide)

Executive Vice President/Account Director: Jenny Cacioppo (Arc Worldwide)

Media placement: National TV - Broadcast (ABC/NBC/etc), Syndication (Sony/WB/etc), Cable (USA/TNT/Lifetime/HGTV - September 6, 2010

Media placement: Traffic Radio - Clear Channel, Metro - September 6, 2010

Media placement: National Newspaper/Sunday Supplements - USA Today, USA Weekend, Etc. - September 6, 2010

Media placement: National Magazine - AARP - September 19, 2010

Media placement: Network Radio - Premiere, Dial Global, Citadel, Etc. - September 28, 2010

Media placement: National Online - AOL, Cafe Mom, Yahoo, Dr. Oz, WebMD, SheKnows, IVillage - September 14, 2010



Describe the objective of the promotion.

Walgreens is in the business of keeping people healthy. No time of year is more important to this effort than flu season. In the U.S., the flu is responsible for more than 200,000 hospitalisations and 36,000 deaths a year. Vaccinations are an important part of being protected but rarely a priority for most people. Our objective was to create a promotional campaign that would inspire five million people to get flu shots at Walgreens, (up from an all-time record of one million the previous year).



Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation.

Our research uncovered a subset of untapped consumers most receptive to getting a flu shot at Walgreens: a group of women we called “Intender Moms.” “Intender Moms” had every intention of getting a shot last year but were so busy doing things for others that getting a flu shot for themselves became less of a priority. So we repositioned the flu shot as a selfless act - a meaningful way for Mom to show her love and protect the people she cares about most - helping her to “arm herself for the ones she loves.”



Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service.

We used a shopper-centric promotional approach, following moms from the broadcast media seen at home to the web, circular, outdoor and into the store giving them constant reminders about the importance of arming themselves for the ones they love with a flu shot. We created iconic heart shaped bandages where they could write in the names of the people they were protecting by getting a shot. Then as they went about their day, the iconic badges prompted people who saw them to think about who THEY should get a shot for, motivating them and creating a positive viral effect.



Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results.

In just two weeks Walgreens administered more than 1 million shots, which equaled the TOTAL shots administered the previous year. We exceeded our goal of 5 million flu shots by nearly half a million. And we did it in only five weeks, instead of the planned five months, saving millions in marketing costs.



• Walgreens saw a 22 point increase in unaided awareness as a place to go for flu shots.



• Sales were over 500% of the previous year’s total. We exceeded our goal of 5 million by 400,000, a record for Walgreens. No other retailer came close.