LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY

Launching a one-of-a-kind online nutrition and lifestyle platform for people undergoing active cancer treatment is tricky. Most digital ad platforms prohibit targeting based on specific medical conditions, and cancer is a difficult subject. Nestlé Health Science needed a strategy as unconventional as its COPES product.

Solution

Understanding the limitations of targeting potential users based on specific medical conditions, we instead leveraged our deep cancer-related experience, geographical activity data, key online behavior insights, and geo-framing technology to reach audiences using paid search, display, social media, drop campaigns, and lead nurturing – and backed it up with powerful creative that got attention.

A two-part campaign was created. The first utilized geo-framing to capture deidentified mobile IP addresses of patients who visited key cancer centers in midsized markets within certain parameters. That data was reverse attributed to other devices, and ads were served to those people living 50 miles or more from each geo-framed cancer center. Our hypothesis was that those individuals would be ideal candidates for a virtual service that could save them a strenuous trip to their regional cancer center.

Part 2 of this campaign hinged on the fact that patients undergoing cancer treatment often have highly compromised immune systems and are at elevated risk for infection. Assuming they would be reluctant to leave their homes unnecessarily and might therefore be interested in online resources, we targeted cities with the highest viral infection rates. Then we leveraged insights from Part 1 to place impactful ads in front of the people in those cities who were likely dealing with cancer treatment.

Multivariate testing was conducted in all markets to quickly learn what messaging resonated best. Using this insight, key audiences were targeted across paid search, display and social media, providing a second touchpoint that was supported by a robust behavioral email drip campaign through a marketing automation platform and nurtured leads through a monthly e-newsletter.

This effort launched COPES with enough energy that it quickly became the benchmark for success for Nestlé. Incredible insights into audience behavior resulted in a massive increase in web users and created the momentum needed for ongoing success.

Results