The Case
Consumers trying to choose a dietary supplement don't always have an easy job. With so many supplements lining the shelves, it can be hard to determine which bottle has the
desired nutrients.
According to a Gallup survey, 63 percent of customers wanted to purchase a natural Vitamin E supplement. But Gallup found only 24 percent of unit sales were actually from
natural Vitamin E products.
Enter ADM. The Decatur, Ill.-based nutraceutical company, a division of Archer Daniels Midland, decided to create a logo to help consumers differentiate between synthetic
Vitamin E and natural source Vitamin E, which research says may help maintain a healthy heart. ADM Nutraceutical turned to Cohn & Wolfe/Chicago, its then agency of record, to
help build awareness and launch the logo.
"Consumers said they don't know how to read the small print and need something [they] can identify with," says ADM Nutraceutical President Tony DeLio.
Spreading The Word
The team knew from focus groups conducted by the National-Source Vitamin E Association that 65 percent of consumers didn't know how to identify natural Vitamin E.
"Natural source Vitamin E is [written as] d-alpha and synthetic is dl-alpha. The only difference is the 'L," says Molly Wilson, ADM Nutraceutical marketing manager.
But while creating ADM's first-ever Vitamin E logo was a start, it wouldn't have been enough if consumers didn't understand the advantages of natural Vitamin E. Maret Traber,
an associate professor at the Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute, completed research that suggests natural source is about twice as potent as its synthetic
counterpart.
ADM needed to find away to get Traber's message to the masses. The team asked her to speak at the logo launch event, a cocktail reception scheduled for August 2000. The
event was for health-care professionals in the hopes that they would spread the word about natural Vitamin E to patients, says Amy Nissen, senior account executive at Cohn &
Wolfe.
"People go to their pharmacist and trust them for information, so we said, 'Why don't we provide them with that information?'" says DeLio.
Traber agreed to speak and received a $5,000 honorarium for her lab. The Cohn & Wolfe/ADM team knew having Traber was a coup.
In addition to speaking about the importance of natural Vitamin E, she would address health-care professionals shortly after the Food and Nutrition Board of the National
Academy of Sciences had upped the recommended dietary allowances for the vitamin from 8-10 milligrams to 15 milligrams.
Since the initial launch was in Chicago, where ADM would test the logo before taking it national, so was the reception. The label was displayed on area GNC and Walgreens brand
natural source, d-alpha Vitamin E products. The reception's guest list included members of the Illinois Dietetic Association, the American Academy of Physician Assistants,
Walgreens pharmacists and GNC managers.
The Big Night
Some 176 health-care professionals attended the event. Traber spoke about the benefits of natural source Vitamin E, explaining that it's best to get the nutrient from foods
first but if you turn to a supplement, natural source Vitamin E is preferable. The presentation ended with Marty Andreas, ADM SVP, unveiling the company's new symbol.
Tearpads with information on Vitamin E were distributed and ADM and Cohn & Wolfe decided to make a video that documented the event and could be used for sales purposes.
In pitching the story to media outlets in the Midwest, Cohn & Wolfe played up women's risk for heart disease. Some $25,000 went into creating and developing press kits
targeting health and fitness writers. A video news release, which won a Mercury 2000 Excellence Award, had 93 airings in 39 markets, says Nissen.
Additionally, Cohn & Wolfe developed a Web site, http://www.d-alpha.com , to tout the benefits of the vitamin. Instead of outsourcing
the writing, agency staffers produced the content. The biggest challenge, Nissen says, was taking "a tremendous amount of information and condensing it, but still making sure we
were factually accurate."
The Diagnosis
ADM is evaluating the initial launch, but things look good, DeLio says. Products carrying the logo have seen a sales lift in some markets of more than 25 percent during some
months, he says. DeLio predicts the company will meet its objective to increase sales by 15 percent by year's end.
Of the 87 returned evaluation forms, 91 percent expressed satisfaction with the event and presentation. More than 80 health professionals at the launch requested tearpads,
and an additional 3,000 were sent to professionals not in attendance.
To date, the campaign has had more than 2.3 million media impressions, including mentions in Fitness magazine and on WGN-AM radio's nationally syndicated "To Your
Health."
(Cohn&Wolfe/Chicago: Amy Nissen, 312/596-2921; ADM: Tony DeLio: 217/424-4112)
Give Me Some Credit
To further encourage health-care professionals to attend the logo launch, Cohn & Wolfe talked to health organizations about allowing their members to obtain continuing
education credits by attending the event. Registered dieticians and other health-care professionals often are looking for additional credits to fulfill certification obligations,
says Amy Nissen of Cohn & Wolfe.
"It was a little time consuming [filling out the paperwork], but easier than we thought," she says. "Some organizations just needed a guest list. Some needed evaluation forms
to prove they did listen."
ADM Logo Launch Stats
Time Frame: March 2000 to August 2000
Budget: $362,500 (Press kits: $15,000 fee/$10,000 out-of-pocket; Spokespersons: $10,000 fee/ $7,500 out-of-pocket; Launch event: $35,000/$30,000 out-of-pocket; Tearpads:
$25,000 fee/$30,000 out-of-pocket; Web site: $80,000 fee/$80,000 out-of-pocket; Account management: $35,000/$5,000 out-of-pocket.
Key Players (ADM): Tony DeLio, president; Molly Wilson, marketing manager; Carl Hart, sales manager.
Key Players (Cohn & Wolfe/Chicago): Ann Adams, co-GM; Amy Nissen,
senior account executive; Emily Schupbach, account executive.