Lloydspharmacy is a national chain of 1,600 pharmacies. They are the product of an acquisition strategy and motivated by the economies of scale building a national chain allows.
Having built the business and rebranded all pharmacies under the Lloyds name our task was to develop a brand positioning that was effective commercially, ownable, and motivating to staff.
The only other national pharmacy chain is Boots who have larger, high street outlets and stock a wide range of goods from health, beauty and toiletries.
Lloydspharmacy’s estate was made up of smaller community pharmacies that generated 80% of their income from prescriptions. This focus on prescriptions allowed us to develop a dedicated healthcare positioning ‘Lloydspharmacy your local health authority’ which was both differentiating and highly motivating to the pharmacists.
It was not enough to just claim a dedicated healthcare positioning; we had to demonstrate it with ground-breaking initiatives developed in conjunction with the client team:
– We removed all sun screams below factor 15 (as recommended by Cancer Research)
– We offered free diabetes tests (building on the fact that 1m people remain undiagnosed in the UK)
– We developed a low cost blood pressure monitor to combat the UK’s biggest killer – heart disease
Each initiative was advertised on TV, press and online.
Lloydspharmacy’s share of the prescription marketplace grew as the image of healthcare professionals developed. Brand tracking showed Lloydspharmacy rivalled Boots on one tenth of their spend.
The campaign was also successful at motivating the employees in the local pharmacies – particularly the pharmacists - which helped both retention and recruitment.
Finally, the campaign was a commercial success:
- Suncare sales were up 150% year on year
- Over 1m diabetes tests were completed (and 100,000 sufferers diagnosed)
- Over 600,000 blood pressure monitors were sold (increasing the total market size threefold).
This success was recognised by a wide range of industry awards, including Best OTC Retailer for Corporate Social Responsibility.