Sweeps Weeks
Pfizer Inc. has started a three-month promotion geared toward getting pharmaceutical users to return to its Pfizer for Living Web site (www.pfizerforliving.com). The campaign culminates in a drawing to win a year’s worth of personal trainer workouts, or one of more than 1,000 other prizes, in December.
The site targets Pfizer customers who have maladies that usually occur jointly, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. The promotion, which began in mid-September, combines the sweepstakes with ever-changing content (plus more chances to win) to keep sufferers coming back.
“Pfizer wanted to make sure that its customers are taking the drugs they are prescribed,” says Fran Heller, senior vice president and managing director of promotions at Wunderman New York, which designed the program. “Compliance is a real problem. Consumers tend not to follow labels.”
In order to be registered in the sweepstakes, participants agree to receive weekly e-mails during an eight-week period. Each message directs them to an article on the site relevant to their condition, which they have also disclosed upon enrolling. The promotion is also being touted in Starting Now, a magazine for Pfizer for Living participants, as well as through banner ads on health and news sites.
Once they read the article, a pop-up window appears and asks them to evaluate the article. When they do, they are given additional chances to win.
The weekly cycle allows customers to get into the habit of checking the site, while giving Pfizer a chance to update it based on which articles pull the best feedback.
Why did Pfizer go with the grand prize it did? For many illnesses, the conditions can be mitigated if the individuals lead healthier lifestyles through a diet or exercise plan.
“We did some research and found that the idea of having a personal trainer scored extremely high with our prospect base,” says Heller.
“If you only offer one prize, people will say, ‘I will never have a chance to win anything,” Heller notes. “That’s not going to get people enrolled.”
“It’s not only about getting them there, it’s about giving them an incentive to go back,” says Derek Stubbs, a Wunderman account manager who worked on the Pfizer campaign.
