A winning formula for Ferring
The winner of the Digital Media – Film award at the PM Society Advertising Awards 2008 was Ferring Pharmaceuticals for its growth hormone drug delivery device campaign Zomajet Vision X. We asked Sue Whitten, Endocrine Business Manager at Ferring, for a Pharma company perspective on just what’s involved in launching a campaign and why it’s important to obtain recognition.
From left to right: Richard Jameson – Ferring Divisional Manager, Justin McCarthy – MD of MJL, Sue Whitten and Business Unit PA Claire Sackett
What was the background to ZomaJet and what were your ideas behind developing this campaign?
ZomaJet was launched in early 2000. It is a needlefree pen device that delivers growth hormone subcutaneously using a process called transjection, without the need of a conventional needle. There was huge potential behind needle-free as a realistic option because there was such negative feedback of needles and how they work. The ZomaJet wasn’t approaching its full market share potential so I had to look at the blocks in the market. Initially there was a lack of belief and basic understanding in how needle-free technology worked.
There was a lot of preparation involved as I had to really look at the blocks that were restricting the uptake of ZomaJet. The impact had been very slow for a number of reasons, the comparative size of the ZomaJet device, the acceptability of the technology and the sound, when a transjection is given. Compared to a syringe, the ZomaJet makes a louder noise when it is used and the perception was that what you heard was what you felt - quite daunting.
I needed to attack these issues in two ways. Firstly by ensuring the needle-free delivery device that was acceptable to everyone – professionals and users alike - and secondly to introduce the noise before the user heard it.
What were you looking for and what did you expect from your first meeting with your ad agency?
I believed from the start that I wanted to bring the device to life. It needed to jump out at people, especially children as they are the main users and are often involved in the selection of the growth hormone delivery device they would like to use. This meant the product needed to be seen as ‘child-friendly,’ so this was the first point we discussed at my initial meeting with our agency MJL.
It was also important for us to decide how best to change people’s perception of the product so that they would investigate it as a realistic alternative to needles.
MJL came up with lots of possibilities – planes, cars and eventually the idea of the hands came up, and I knew straight away that it was the right one.
"Ferring is a niche specialist company, so I feel it’s an incredible achievement to be acknowledged in this way and for me personally to have my convictions about the product recognised"
How long did it take to finalise the campaign?
It probably took about nine months from the campaign’s inception to getting the final result up and running. We had all the drawings and MJL worked on how we could characterise the ZomaJet and turn it into a little figure. Eventually the character of Zomes was created out of the device.
It was always important that there was a DVD to simplify everything and to show how easy it was to use, as well as giving people support in a practical way. Initially we gave away Zac, the little orange character, as part of a demonstration kit so people could practice their technique on him before trying it on themselves, which worked brilliantly.
Why do you think this project in particular proved to be such a winning partnership with MJL?
I think the project was a winning campaign because of the animation – I always believed that the way forward was to animate the process. We involved our customers to find out their take on what the market required which was, most importantly, for the device to be user-friendly.
Compliance is the key to treatment success. There needs to be an acceptance of the treatment by both the child and their carers, who need to be motivated to give treatment. The agency understood exactly what I wanted and where I was going with the product which meant the campaign ran smoothly.
This was not a cheap campaign so I really had to be convinced. Working closely with MJL I knew I was right to have the courage of my convictions.
What has been the outcome of the campaign?
The characters of Zomes and Zac are very appealing and as our patients treated with growth hormone are children, offering choice has helped to support concordance and compliance. Patients can select the device they want to use to administer their growth hormone. So with DVDs in the clinics we found that if they could carry say two or three facilitating options, by seeing how user-friendly ZomaJet is, they would ultimately select it as one of their choices.
We have seen a significant increase in patients choosing ZomaJet since launch of the DVD in 2006, but we still need further growth. Feedback has been very positive and people are finding the device very straightforward which is instilling user confidence. Patient recruitment has increased and business is still growing against tough competition. We plan to launch a new DVD soon explaining how needle-free technology works and are also working on a larger dose version for the next generation ZomaJet device.
Do you think it’s important for Ferring to enter awards such as the PM Society Awards?
Yes I do! I was thrilled when this campaign won - for all involved. To get this kind of recognition from your peers is brilliant and in such a strong category with stiff competition. I knew we had an extremely good, quality product that offered clear patient information in an engaging way.
Ferring is a niche specialist company, so I feel it’s an incredible achievement to be acknowledged in this way and for me personally to have my convictions about the product recognised.
I feel the campaign has created high quality patient information and increased awareness about what alternatives are available for patients so they can make an informed choice about their treatment.
MJL suggested we enter the awards as they felt right away that it was a winning product, so I’m really pleased they suggested it!.
How have you capitalised on your win?
We have flagged the win up on our internal website and will be putting a link through to the DVD on the company website. This has created a lot of discussion and will enable us to increase patient awareness about what alternatives are available. I think it also instils confidence in patients knowing that our product has won such a prestigious award and that, in effect, it has the backing of industry professionals.
Commenting on Ferring’s win, PM Society Awards Chairman Neil Smith said: “The ZomaJet campaign won because the judges found it well scripted, well produced and perfectly geared to its target audience, dealing with a difficult subject in a fun and engaging way.”
Click here to view an extract of the Zomajet Vision X DVD. The Video Production company responsible for the animation was Olive Media Group: www.olivemediagroup.com.
Ferring has proved that you don’t have to be a huge pharmaceutical company in order to win awards. If you’ve been inspired by Sue Whitten’s experience, look out later in the year for the Society’s invitation to put your entries forward for the 2009 Advertising Awards! Also watch out for the PM Society’s brand new Digital Media Awards 2009, taking place in October, which will be a celebration of the very best in digital media solutions within the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.