Calpol

Background

In 2006, Calpol the leading children’s analgesic brand, wanted to leverage its iconic brand positioning to become one of the thought leaders on parenting and childcare issues. M&F’s strategy was to create a credible and robust research report to provide a platform for media and stakeholder relations and enable Calpol to inform the debate about parenting and childcare.

Activities

Calpol worked with stakeholders and think tank ‘The Future Foundation’ to carry out research exploring the attitudes and social factors that impact on modern day parenting and childcare. A thought-provoking report, the ‘Changing Face of Parenting’, was produced and launched in October 2006 through one-to-one media briefings, e-communications and a briefing event at the Institute of Child Health.

Impact

The campaign moved Calpol from the health pages to features on wellbeing and social issues in children’s welfare, with results in line with Calpol’s brand messages. The findings generated over 50 items, with 34 million opportunities to read across national and broadcast media, which drove the media debate about parenting and childcare and coined the phrase ‘Professional Parenting’. As a result of the report, Calpol was offered a position on the steering group for the Department of Health’s Healthy Living Social Marketing Programme.

1. IRI MAT 25th March 2007