Category: “Keep it Simple” AMEC Plain English Client Clarity Award
Client/Entering Company: Johnson Health Tech. Co. Ltd
Campaign title: Run for Love
Company Name: Ogilvy Public Relations, Taipei

Objective/Brief

Did you hit the gym this morning? If so, pat yourself on the back! And then think back for a few seconds to see if you can name the brand of treadmill in your gym? Or in the last hotel you stayed in? Any luck? Probably not.

As the world’s No. 3 fitness equipment manufacturer, Johnson Health Tech is fortunately better known among wholesalers and fitness center equipment buyers, but has almost zero consumer brand awareness. This was a real challenge for the company, with an upcoming consumer home fitness treadmill launch. Even B2B retailers were confusing it with a Taiwanese competitor.

The challenge for Ogilvy PR Taipei, and Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Taiwan, was to establish brand differentiation, bring Johnson Health Tech into the consumer arena and drive purchase intent for Johnson fitness equipment.

Making a new product launch the focus of our communications plan, we set one clear business objective, supported by two broader brand communication objectives:

• Business Objective
  Sell 1,500 units of the new treadmill product within 6 months of launch
• Communications Objectives
  Increase Johnson Health Tech brand awareness, consumer engagement and product trial
  Positively impact trade relations with B2B retail customers so they become stronger supporters of our well-differentiated brand

Strategy

As a basis for our communications plan, we began with a search for insights into consumer barriers. Internal and external interviews gave us initial direction. We then developed hypotheses to test in six consumer focus groups across major Taiwanese cities on home fitness equipment generally, in addition to the Johnson Health Tech brand awareness challenge.

Our research uncovered two new insights, which resulted in a new and differentiated strategy:

1. Beyond the rational desire for improving personal fitness, the deeper emotional motivator for buying a treadmill was that users wished to avoid becoming a health burden to their families through ill health and poor fitness

2. Consumers who did know of the brand (in prompted awareness) found Johnson Health Tech’s stores too frighteningly professional to approach. Typical reactions: “The store looks like it’s not suitable for a beginner like me,” “I’m afraid that asking some basic questions might make me look like a fool.”

These insights formed the basis of our strategy to launch Johnson Health Tech’s consumer brand and first product.

Turning ‘Avoidance’ into a sign of ‘Love’

Since the primary driver for purchasing a treadmill was not to burden the family with health issues, we put a positive spin on this and presented the concept as “love for family.” We named the newly- launched treadmill “Run for Love,” encouraging everyone to continue running for the benefit of their loved ones.

In building the consumer facing brand, TV commercials depicted treadmill purchasers’ love for their family and promoted Johnson Health Tech’s social responsibility, using charity events supported by PR, to show its love for wider society.

Create a non-intimidating product trial environment

Knowing how critical trials were, and the need for a less threatening environment in which to conduct them, we created the first ever treadmill experience truck in Taiwan. It traveled throughout Taiwan, making Johnson treadmill trials available to a wide range of people, while also building brand awareness. To drive treadmill try outs, Johnson Health Tech also developed a motivating CSR component, donating money to Chinese Children Home & Shelter Association (CCSA), based on the mileage run on the “Run for Love” treadmill. More running = larger donations.

Execution/Implementation

Public Relations

• Activation: The Run for Love treadmill truck housed four Johnson Health Tech “Run for Love” treadmills. The company donated US$3 to CSSA for every kilometer run.
• Media relations: We demonstrated the transformation from cargo truck to mobile fitness center, and hosted a dance performance on the treadmills, for TV, print and online outlets. We also based media interviews with the Chairman of Johnson Health Tech around the company’s CSR strategy.
• Local area stakeholder engagement: We partnered with a university in the regional city where Johnson Health Tech was founded (and has slightly higher brand recognition). A college charity run in this town saw the company donate US$20,000 on behalf of 2,400 participants.

Brand identity TV commercial
The “Run for Love” TV commercial featured a 50-year-old man running through different stages of his life for his loved ones, which served to build Johnson Health Tech’s brand image as loving and caring.

Digital Campaign
We built an event site to showcase the launch, TVC, the CSR donation and the Run for Love treadmill truck appearances, supported by a new client Facebook fan page.

Conclusions

In the first six months, more than 2,200 “Run for Love” treadmills were sold, versus the sales target of 1,500, a 46 percent overachievement. Not only did this generate US$1million in additional sales revenue, it delivered a very high ROI for the company and also set a new sales record.

As further proof that we delivered on our objectives of increasing brand awareness and engagement, feedback from retail stores confirmed that consumers specifically asked for the “Run for Love” treadmill in stores. Overall sales of treadmills (all models) increased by 50 percent over the same period the previous year, evidence of our campaign’s knock-on effect on growth across the company’s other product ranges.

Brand awareness drove a doubling in store traffic
Store managers also reported that Johnson Health Tech stores (and those of retail partners) had never been as busy, as consumers overcame their fear of visiting.

Strong trial results
The treadmill experience truck traveled to 80 towns and cities, resulting in 11,143 trial visitors, 12,085 kilometers run and more than US$40,000 in donations to charity by Johnson Health Tech.

Improved trade relations
The consumer branding campaign provided retail distribution channels, such as department stores, with a sales boost. This, in turn, helped Johnson Health Tech. to improve relationships with distribution partners and is likely to bring future sales benefits

Name of contact: Fupei Wang
Company: Corporate Communications, Ogilvy Public Relations, Taipei
Telephone: + 886-2-7745-1555