As expectant parents prepare for their new arrival, they delve into a world of the best products, latest methodologies, and expert guidance, to ensure they're doing everything right for their little one. Amidst this whirlwind of preparation, imagine discovering a crucial, yet often overlooked opportunity - the power of cord blood banking.
Cord Blood Banking is a process involving the collecting and storing of blood and tissue from a newborn's umbilical cord, which contains potentially life saving stem cells. These stem cells are key players in treating a variety of genetic, blood, and immune disorders, currently offering hope for over 80 health conditions. Despite its potential, cord blood banking remains underutilized and shrouded in misconceptions, presenting a significant societal challenge for The Cord Blood Registry (CBR).
With low brand and category awareness, coupled with widespread negative perceptions, CBR was at a pivotal point. They needed a campaign aimed at enhancing brand recognition and educating and engaging a crucial demographic – expectant parents in their second and third trimesters, who lacked accurate information about cord blood banking.
The objectives were clear: shift the public's understanding and perception of cord blood banking from a healthcare professional-led narrative to a consumer-focused dialogue, empower parents with knowledge, and increase enrollment figures. This initiative was more than a marketing effort; it was a commitment to bridging the gap between scientific progress and public awareness, reshaping societal views on an essential but underutilized medical resource.
We completed a data analysis looking at the past three years of CBR’s upper, middle and lower funnel metrics - including interest markers, lead gen indicators, enrollment and sales data. We also launched a brand tracking survey to best understand our audiences and how to communicate with them, ultimately deciding to take a Direct-to-Consumer approach. We also determined the best way to align the digital habits of our target audience was to partner with someone well known among our core demographic. We chose personality, celebrity, and mother: Chrissy Teigen.
Our strategy hinged on Chrissy’s personal narrative, one that resonated in the hearts of expectant parents, those who recently had a baby, and those planning to become pregnant in the next 12 months. Chrissy Teigen, a 37-year-old model, television host, best-selling cookbook author, and mother has navigated the complex journey of parenthood. Chrissy's experience encompasses the joys and sorrows of motherhood, including the heartbreaking loss of her son Jack at 20 weeks, a moment she bravely shared with the world. Her resilience shone through as she announced in February 2022 the resumption of IVF, culminating in the birth of her child in January 2023. Throughout, the media chronicled her journey, capturing its relatability and evoking a shared sense of hope and strength.
While a great choice for many reasons, Chrissy was also called out online for bullying and other unfavorable behaviors during our partnership. We conducted a full social analysis of her owned social posts; the comments left on her social media were directed at Chrissy, not brands, and tended to be a bit crazed. We determined our target audience would be able to discern comments from their own beliefs about a brand. CBR is no stranger to polarity, as its product can be considered controversial too, so negative comments did not deter them from working with Chrissy.
In leveraging Chrissy's influential story, we sought to transcend the traditional healthcare narrative, shifting towards a more consumer-centric approach. We created a genuine, heartfelt connection with expectant parents, using Chrissy's experiences as a touchstone for conversations around the importance of cord blood banking.
We showcased Chrissy’s story across various media formats, integrating strategic TV appearances and robust social media engagement. We scripted Chrissy’s content and staged an interview with Chrissy, creating content to be posted from her Instagram, including 2 in-feed Posts (a link in bio for 10 days after each post went live) and 3 Instagram Stories (3 frames each) to her 42.7 million followers. Chrissy was also featured on multiple broadcast shows, including Access Hollywood, Extra, and the Kelly Clarkson Show, where her potential reach was quite expansive in the millions. Her story was also featured in online print, including People.com (172.8M unique visitors monthly), ETOnline (11.4M unique visitors monthly), and PureWow (8.3M unique visitors monthly).
The 'Bank on CBR with Chrissy' campaign, though not yet concluded, has already delivered impressive results, exceeding our initial key performance indicators (KPIs). The effectiveness of the campaign is evident not just in heightened awareness and consideration but, more importantly, in the concrete actions taken by families.
