Consumer health companies and their agencies have been recognized for their achievements over the past year at the OTC Marketing Awards 2024.
A panel of 34 expert judges decided the winners across 12 categories with the trophies handed out at a ceremony in London on 21 November.
Here, HBW Insight presents a selection of the judges’ comments about the leading entries.
OTC Company of the Year
Winner – Opella
“Opella’s commitment to making self-care simple is compelling and evident in everything they do. Their achievement of B Corp status is testament to their focus on driving high standards of social and environmental standards. I’m excited to see what they do as the new brand identity matures.”
“A worthy winner of OTC company of the year. Impressive growth accompanied by a dedication to training. Lots of companies talk about the importance of switch, but Opella has shown continuing focus on extending access to products previously only available on prescription.”
Highly Commended – Maxwellia
“Maxwellia have achieved well deserved recognition for their pioneering activities in the wonderful world of consumer healthcare. Their budgets may be small but their ability and ambition are large.”
Highly Commended – Perrigo
“A powerful portfolio of brands together with an unwavering commitment to consumer self-care makes Perrigo a powerful force in the OTC industry. Continuous product innovation together with a heavy investment in training and education has delivered excellent volume and value growth across all brands.”
OTC Brand of the Year – Sponsored by Skills in Healthcare
Winner - Allevia, Opella
“From its launch in 2022, Allevia has disrupted and more recently dominated the allergy category, consistently delivering brand and category growth. Another excellent year for the outstanding brand in allergy.”
“A great entry. Fantastic results, despite the ‘wettest summer since the titanic’ driven by a highly effective product and a personalized, timely marketing approach.”
Highly Commended - E45, Karo Healthcare
“A highly innovative campaign, dealing sensitively with skin conditions and contributing to people becoming comfortable in their own skin.”
Highly Commended - LoviOne, Maxwellia
“Excellent strategy, backed by insight and research, ensured OTC market delivery across a much needed pharmacy area.”
OTC Launch of the Year
Winner - TheraTears 5-in-1 Eyecare, Prestige Consumer Healthcare
“A winning entry. The impactful packaging supports and delivers the compelling 5-in-1 positioning. This combined with the clever ‘one stop drop’ strap line has real cut through. The sponsorship slots for TV weather really drive home the brand message.”
“An effective, engaging and well-supported launch from Prestige Consumer Healthcare.”
Highly Commended - SolpaOne, Perrigo
“With a well-considered and well executed launch plan, and the One, Two, Free advertising message, SolpaOne is off to a great start.”
Highly Commended - Zarbee’s, Kenvue
“Great to see a different approach to cough, cold and sore throat, tapping into an increase in consumer demand for more ‘natural’ products.”
OTC Brand Revitalisation of the Year – Supported by PAGB
Winner – Hedrin, Thornton & Ross, Twelve
“Bright, bold, and eye-catching from Hedrin. Cleverly removing the taboos and embarrassment of head lice while normalizing the drama and stress in a light, fun and humorous way. Very memorable.”
“The thing I enjoy most about the hard work here is the translation of insight into execution for which the team should be congratulated.”
Highly Commended - E45, Karo Healthcare
“Bold and brave by Karo. Made the brand attractive to all consumers, while opening eyes to the trans community and the experiences and needs while transitioning. Drives acceptance and curiosity while bringing the brand into current times.”
Highly Commended - Hydromol, Alliance Pharmaceuticals, HHGlobal
“A very robust strategic campaign executed with clear education on benefits of POM-to-P as a ‘Dr trusted’ brand. Good execution through an omni-channel approach to drive sales, great results in impressions and click throughs.”
Most Innovative New OTC Product – Sponsored by Dexcel Pharma
Winner – E45 Sun Care Sensitive, Karo Healthcare
“Brilliant insight led innovation. A clear gap identified and a great range beautifully presented and put together to fill it. Excellent campaign, distinct messaging and well thought through assets.”
“In a saturated market, E45 have managed to clearly differentiate their brand with a unique consumer offering in the sunscreen category. An excellent example of a line extension designed to meet a specific consumer demand that, to date, has not been adequately met.”
Highly Commended - Evana Heavy Period Relief, Maxwellia
“A truly unique new product entry to the market with a stunning comprehensive marketing and education plan behind it to launch successfully. A product that women everywhere will appreciate.”
Highly Commended - Otrivine Relief range, Haleon
“Innovation based upon consumer insight i.e. where it is needed. A launch not to be ‘mist!’ Well done.”
Best Big Budget OTC Marketing Campaign – Sponsored by Precision
Winner – AnuSol, Church & Dwight, Wavemaker, Health Professional Academy
“Love this fun creative campaign being cheeky about our cheeks! Great approach and creative execution with tie-ins, sold channel activity and great sales results.”
“Light hearted approach with great imagery for a taboo topic. Great to see that HCP awareness was included alongside consumer outreach. Figures speak for themselves delivering sales and value in NPD and also a small uplift in halo brand.”
Highly Commended - E45, Karo Healthcare, T&Pm, Halpern
“Love this modernized campaign for a staple brand. Very bold approach with a great tag line of Me45 really resonating with a diverse population to reach a younger broader demographic with super results. Great work.”
Highly Commended - TePe Interdental Brushes, TePe, Bray Leino
“The find the gap campaign was well thought through with placements throughout London where ‘mind the gap’ is a well-known transport phrase. Well targeted and was shown through increased market share and value increase.”
Best Niche OTC Marketing Campaign
Winner – Canesten, Bayer, Inizio Evoke, Incisive Health, Mediacom
“A very bold and important campaign touching on society taboos around the intimate female and trans form. Built around a comprehensive, straight talking and myth dispelling website, the campaign hits right to the heart of many young women and girls’ sensitivities and concerns in the modern world where perfection is displayed everywhere. Such an important campaign.”
“A campaign breaking taboos of feminine health, targeting and educating younger consumers via channels and products familiar/desirable to them. An effective use of a collaboration and partnership. Getting women, especially young women, to talk openly about their vulvas and feminine wellbeing.”
Highly Commended - Hydromol, Alliance Pharmaceuticals, HHGlobal
“A well put together campaign based on data and insight. Enabling confidence through a medically recommended product paired with customer testimonial. The campaign broke through the pressures experienced in today’s society. Great results in a crowded marketplace.”
Highly Commended - Savlon, Thornton & Ross, Twelve
“Relatable, everyday moments bring home the Savlon brand benefits and open up the usage occasions.”
Best OTC Social Media Campaign
Winner – Buscopan IBS Relief, Opella Healthcare, Vidsy, Hearts & Science (OMG Group)
“An excellent campaign for Buscopan which demonstrated and addressed sufferers' lack of understanding about the treatment of abdominal cramps.”
“A fantastic entry with strong customer testimonials. Buscopan has employed targeted messaging for IBS relief and achieved very effective engagement.”
Highly Commended - DulcoLax, Opella Healthcare, Webber, MRM, OMG Group
“Through innovative real-time interactions and clever educational content across multiple channels, this high performing campaign significantly boosted brand awareness and engagement, driving a remarkable increase in value sales and consumer sentiment.”
Highly Commended - Hedrin, Thornton & Ross, Twelve
“This was a really excellent campaign which used consumer insights and humor to overcome the stigma of head lice, rightly emphasizing the importance of the school as the ‘front-line’ of the battle.”
Best OTC Digital or Mobile Marketing
Winner – Rennie at Ramadan, Bayer, Essence Mediacom, Oliver Marketing, Google
“The Rennie campaign exemplified the power of culturally sensitive and targeted digital marketing, achieving extraordinary results on a limited budget by strategically engaging the Muslim community during Ramadan.”
“I like the innovative approach targeting a specific cultural moment. Great brand lift. This is my favorite entry given the best-in-class results.”
Highly Commended - Rennie Gamers, Bayer, Essence Mediacom, Oliver Marketing, Activision Blizzard Media
“Gamification to target the role Rennie can play in addressing problems associated with sedentary lifestyles - a smart way to reach people and to get the brand message across.”
Highly Commended - Allevia, Opella Healthcare, OMG Media, Ambee, Adylic
“The agility of the Allevia 2024 hay fever campaign shone through in their entry. By leveraging innovative digital content optimization and real-time data to deliver highly personalized messaging, it achieved remarkable engagement and conversion results.”
Best OTC Audio-Visual Advertising – Sponsored by Kenvue
Winner – E45, Karo Healthcare, T&Pm, Halpern
“A thought provoking and relevant campaign that shows how a legacy brand has pivoted for a completely new market, with an authentic message. An emotionally charged and risky move brilliantly played.”
“The winning entry - punchy, brave, inspirational, memorable, colorful, diverse. Great use of the simple bathroom to bring the product and emotional connection to life.”
Highly Commended - AnuSol, Church & Dwight, Wavemaker
“Creative and humorous balanced with empathy delivering great results. An impactful campaign for what is often a taboo subject.”
Highly Commended - Sudocrem, Teva, Havas Consumer Health
“A nice reset for Sudocrem. The creative is well researched and engaging, with clear and to the point messaging. The results are clear and very strong. An excellent campaign.”
Best OTC Public Relations Campaign for a Consumer Healthcare Product
Winner – Eroxon, Ceuta Consumer Healthcare, Jungle Cat Solutions
“A really well thought through campaign. I like how Eroxon focused on the emotional impact of the incidence of erectile dysfunction and the fact that’s it’s a taboo topic and difficult to talk about.”
“A great campaign with many elements, including the creative use of a TV character who suffered from the condition as spokesperson. Great case studies and content with exceptional results.”
Highly Commended - Kalms Herbal Remedies, Lanes Health, Beyond PR
“A very strong campaign with impressive results. Classic levers applied very effectively. I love the poem idea - very creative - and I can see how it resonated well in the current frenetic culture.”
Highly Commended - Astral Intensive Moisturiser, Dendron Brands, Satellite Health
“A lovely uplifting campaign using and celebrating elderly women as brand ambassadors. Great stories, real people, emotive and engaging content. Great results.”
Best OTC Pharmacy Training & Learning
Winner – Nurofen: See My Pain, Reckitt, Verve, McCann London
“I love this campaign. Its single minded nature and effectiveness means it’s a clear winner for me. The brand and agency team have cleverly built on an established issue to position themselves as agents of change that can arm HCPs with the right tools to close the gap, and positively impact women’s lives. The campaign is strategically sound, and executed flawlessly.”
“Tackling the misconceptions and misunderstandings of the gender pain gap is no small feat. It requires a lot of insights, data and a range of ways of understanding the issue in context both in an empathetic and scientific manner. This training program does all that.”
Highly Commended – The Pain Code, Perrigo, ALL Creative, CIG Healthcare Partnership
“The clear and simplistic delivery of the information is amazing. This learning campaign feels built around the user experience of the HCP. The test your knowledge is really good to measure the users learning and gives them opportunity to go back to the module to correct knowledge gaps.”
Highly Commended – Viagra Connect, Viatris, CIG Healthcare Partnership
“Well-tailored training content that increased brand loyalty, confidence with the brand and awareness of the customer, as shown through the results.”
