Situation:

The trusted Tylenol brand found itself retreating as the competition was accelerating. A majority of its volume was with 50+ consumers, and the brand was losing market share with young consumers. These Millennials found Tylenol not a compelling brand, one among many undifferentiated analgesics.


Challenge:

Consumers over 50 “Take Comfort in Tylenol’s Strength” but how could the brand to capture the loyalty of a younger generation when comfort isn’t cool? How could it engage with the rising Millennial audience?


Solution:

Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve identified the deep culture shift that Millennials don’t shun pain, they claim pain. They indulge in piercing and tattooing; they brag about their skateboarding injuries and scars earned through extreme sports. Tylenol needed to understand and embrace emerging cultural values, and also market in a new way to this new generation. Culture is the new media, and so Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve established the brand as relevant to young people by leveraging our proprietary InCulture Marketing Model. Together, we created Tylenol! Ouch, a line extension focused on Millennials by communicating their value of claiming pain. By connecting consumers through People, Places, Press, and Products (our 4P model), they engaged with the Brand in an entirely different way than the 50+ generation.

Results:

Brand visibility far exceeding typical media buys. Significant increases in Brand relevance measures among target groups for the first time in over a decade. Double-digit increases in household penetration. Gold EFFIE Winner. Additionally, the skateboarding park that we developed – the Tylenol Bowl in Brooklyn – was named the humanitarian gesture of the year by Skateboarding magazine.