Emla - Plakken, Prikken, Klaar

Client
Aspen Netherlands

Our role
Strategy
Concept
Design
Web
Video & motion graphics
Online marketing

Deliverables
Branding
Content calendar
Banners & pre-rolls
Website
Playbook
Online marketing campaign

Date
Q3 2023

A plaster that allows you to numb your skin to relieve the pain of pricks; it is a solution for many people who dread pricks. And this is more common than you think: a large international study shows that approximately 20-30% of all people dread being pricked. Among young people, the percentage is even higher, from one in five to almost one in two.

Among medical professionals, Emla has been a well-known concept and product for many years, especially among pediatricians. But the Emla plaster is relevant for more target groups and in more situations, especially when we look at the figures about looking up to pricks. Since the fall of 2023, the Emla plaster has been available both online and at pharmacies without a prescription: the moment to switch to a B2C strategy and launch Emla as a brand within the consumer market!

Behavior as a guide

The Emla patch is part of Aspen Pharma's product portfolio. Together with the enthusiastic team from Aspen Netherlands, we started researching what looking up to pricks entails and who belongs to the target group, with the aim of creating disease awareness. It soon became clear that the target groups were difficult to define. At that point in our research we looked at behaviors associated with worrying about shots. We developed a 'aversion to getting pricked' meter to determine what gradations exist and where our target group is located. And that provided opportunities and new insights.

Why wait?

Emla plasters are not for the blind panic, but for the people who procrastinate because of the anticipation of getting pricked. There is also a small target group that does not feel completely impeded, but can see Emla plasters as a helping hand and will follow the trend. Is someone postponing their big dream trip because they are dreading the travel vaccination? Has someone wanted a small tattoo for years, but has been dreading the pain of the needle? An Emla band-aid numbs the skin and thus relieves the pain of needles.

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Plakken, Prikken, Klaar

With the campaign, we especially want to emphasize the positive aspect of the Emla patch: Why wait? Don't let it hold you back any longer! There is a solution to your procrastination. Stick that Emla plaster and with an application time of one hour you are only a short time away from your vaccination, minor skin surgery, tattoo or piercing. With this in mind, we developed a slogan: Plakken, Prikken, Klaar! Sound familiar? Think: Ready, set, go! or Lights, camera, action! Short, fast and strong slogans that are activating and make it immediately clear what to do.

Reach your target audience

Based on various studies and surveys of the target audience, we developed a channel strategy and, in collaboration with Aspen Netherlands, determined which channels we would use to generate reach. Emla was provided with a completely new branding that can also be used further in Europe. The positioning of the brand, typography, use of color, style elements and photography were determined by us during this process and summarized in a playbook.

Resource Mix

From the channel strategy, we extracted a clear focus: it is on online marketing. We deploy Google, YouTube and social media (Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest) both paid and organic. In doing so, we don't forget offline. We designed a counter display especially for Boots Pharmacies, completely in the style of Emla. And are you pregnant? Then you must have seen our Emla plaster flyer in the Blije Doos. And this year we are taking the next step in retail marketing in collaboration with Etos.

Check it out online

All these assets obviously point to Emla.nl: the website where you can find more information about looking up to pricks, of course the Emla plaster, how to use it and where to buy it. The objectives were clear from the beginning: disease awareness, brand awareness and lead generation. By using clear call-to-actions we want to make the path to the right conversion as short as possible. Are you apprehensive about pricking or curious about the results? Then take a look at Emla.nl

Pharmaceuticals & marketing

Did you know that marketing for pharmaceuticals involves specific regulations? From a strategy and design point of view, this presents the necessary challenges, but we certainly do not avoid them: How do we deal with external points of sale? Within the frameworks, how do we create a catchy and activating slogan that passes all these regulations? As soon as public advertising concerns a drug, medical device or health product, as an agency you have to deal with extra strict regulations, including from the Inspection Board. And that's just as well: it's important to protect consumers when it comes to our health. For us it is extra cool to broaden our knowledge in this way.

The setup of the Dutch campaign is a success and is the starting shot for a rollout in other European countries. The Emla global team is just as enthusiastic as we are and together with them we developed the Emla playbook, in which we established the corporate identity and campaign. Meanwhile, we have also started in Belgium. In short: a campaign that will go further and further into Europe. In the meantime, we are also continuing to work to achieve the objectives for the Dutch market. We maintain the social media channels, perform the necessary updates on the website and are still developing new assets for new applications. A project to be proud of! With even a mention of our case in the SAN Accent yearbook 2023.