case study: medicare
Challenger Brand Issue: Rapidly changing category, media-driven fear
In December 2003, the President signed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA), creating the benefit that provided prescription drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries beginning January 1, 2006. The new benefit required beneficiaries to make a choice from a wide variety of available drug plans, with multiple permutations in benefit design that are marketed and administered by private health care plans. gkv was hired in 2005 to create the launch campaign.
Insights
Awareness of the new plan was fairly low among beneficiaries and caregivers, many were confused about the purchase decision, and there was tremendous skepticism of the new program. Medicare Rx was also caught in the middle of a national political battle that was fought in the mass media, as representatives from all sides of the political spectrum were opposed to certain elements of the legislation. Add to all this the fact that, on a good day, the government has a less than stellar reputation for customer service, and you have a recipe for failure.
Challenger Brand Behavior: Emotional Connection
We determined quickly that prescription drug coverage was not just a "seniors" issue. Its far-reaching economic and political implications made it an "American" issue.
In order to be successful, gkv felt it important to encourage all Americans to do what comes naturally to us. To help each other. To take action and participate in community, family and/or peer-to-peer conversations about the coverage to ensure it was understood and utilized. The marketing effort encouraged a "national conversation" — one person at a time.
The Help Is Here campaign, led by decidedly "un-governmental" branding and poignant tv commercials, was a massive national and grassroots education and outreach campaign, involving consumer and community organizations, federal and state agencies, employers/unions, provider, pharmacies and other health professionals, health plans and many others.
Results
When the campaign ended on May 15th, 2006, over 38,000,000 beneficiaries were enrolled in a prescription plan, making the introduction of the Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage the most successful launch of a voluntary social benefit in the history of the nation.