merit
Ricola recognized consumers weren’t just searching for cough drops when they got sick (reactively), and they needed throat and voice care in their daily routine all year round (proactively). In looking for everyday voice/throat care options, consumers weren’t instinctively connecting the dots between those everyday use-case scenarios (dry throat, throat tickles, hoarse voice, etc.) and Ricola, historically seen as a Cough & Cold remedy.
In 2023, Ricola was launching a new product innovation, Ricola Throat Balm. With a unique liquid honey centre and a category-first caramel flavour, Ricola Throat Balm was perfectly positioned to help alleviate daily throat irritations like throat clears, hoarse voice, and dry throat, and change perceptions around the brand by introducing a new daily usage occasion. So, with this new product, we set out to change perceptions, that new Ricola Throat Balm could be used to prevent daily throat irritations outside the Cough & Cold season.
The unique liquid-honey centre and caramel flavour were ownable however, they weren’t enough to communicate the preventative nature of the product; they were the ‘what’. We had to give those delicious ingredients meaning - the ‘why’. We knew tasty visuals would be enticing but to be convincing of an everyday usage, we had to give the ingredients a purpose; “Coat & Protect” gave Ricola Throat Balm a new purpose, a new usage occasion, and a handful of firsts for the brand.
At the centre of the integrated campaign was a 3D animated 0:30 sec OLV - a first for Ricola. The ingredient-focused spot brought the mouth-watering ingredients to life. The spot also demonstrated the drop’s unique coating and protecting properties. Other mouth-watering assets included DOOH, Social, Display, Advertorial content, and in-store POP, with contextual Programmatic and Search intersecting people at moments of voice/throat care needs. We also showed up with a full Amazon DSP integration, storefront overhaul, Send me a Sample, Alexa Audio ads, and multiple live streams.
We built Ricola’s first, fully integrated Influencer campaign, with a 3-tier, full-funnel approach, including shoppable links, 20+ creators, retail influencers, and YouTube celebrities Good Mythical Morning & Harry Mack.
The “Coat & Protect” messaging and campaign resonated with daily throat irritation sufferers. In fact, it was a message adopted by consumers whole-heartedly, resulting in a 61.2% Share of Voice (SOV) of “Coat and Protect” amongst competitors three months after the campaign period ended. In addition, Ricola Throat Balm became the #2 new item in the category just eight weeks after the campaign launched.
Additionally, the campaign delivered:
#2 new item in the Category (after just eight weeks)
0.54 Billion Impressions
26.7M Engagements (Creator content engagement)
19.1% Purchase Intent Rate (YouTube Influencer partnership content)
+93% Brand Memorability (OLV efficacy vs. category norms)
By the end of 2023, Ricola was the #1 selling cough drop brand in the US, another first, claiming category leadership for the year with a 30.7 dollar share.
