Lessons To Learn From Inspiring Health And Medical Marketing

The world of life science marketing is split down the middle, with strict regulations meaning that many medical products, drugs and devices are advertised comprehensively to medical professionals instead of customers as is the practice in the United States.

Medical adverts aimed at customers, therefore, tend to be either public information films that were commissioned by the government, or otherwise focused less on selling a product and more on raising awareness of conditions and services available.

When done right, a health marketing campaign can be highly influential, and with that in mind here are some lessons that can be learned from health, safety and medical marketing successes.

Dumb Ways to Die – Metro Trains Melbourne

One of the most popular and successful public information films ever, to the point that many people do not realise that it is about railway safety, Dumb Ways to Die is a catchy jingle that highlights the dangers posed by the railway network alongside other outlandish actions to take.

According to Metro Trains, it managed to reduce near-miss accidents by 30 per cent within a year and was viewed over 334 million times in total, as well as winning many industry awards.

The lesson learned is the power of viral marketing and framing. Many people did not even realise it was a public information film until the very end but this did not stop the message from being effective.

Gaviscon Firefighters

Heartburn and indigestion are conditions that many people deal with but may not understand the mechanics of or how to relieve themselves of that discomfort.

As a response to this, Gaviscon had a range of adverts that depicted their heartburn relief medication as firefighters cooling down the heartburn’s metaphorical flames.

Whilst such a depiction needs to be undertaken with care not to misrepresent what a medication does, adverts work best with dynamic, simple visuals.