CASE STUDY: How search got Malaysian smokers to quit

Background
Nicotine chewing-gum, Nicorette, was facing intense competition from the launch of Niquitin in the market and needed to differentiate itself among those who were thinking of quitting.

Aim
Targeting the on-the-verge-of-quitting smokers with the highest efficiency.

Execution
In general, smokers almost never smoke alone and it's uncool to 'want to quit' in such company. But increasingly, they are getting alienated due to more and more people quitting and limited smoking areas. When smoking alone, they are inseparable from their mobile devices. These smokers could potentially be coaxed into trying Nicorette if they could be reached at this time.
Universal Mccann Malaysia decided to target these lone-smokers via apps and browsers on their mobile devices. Using contextual ads based on lifestyle, games, health, wellness, sports and other male-skewed platforms. The ad copies were designed to make them curious and to lead them to specific information on a site that would encourage them to quit smoking - with Nicorette.

Results
The conversion rate via these device-targeted ads was 14 times that of desktop-targeted campaigns. Over 96 per cent of click-throughs came via the apps and enquiries increased by 76 per cent. Futhermore, sales recorded the highest jump ever of 41 per cent year on year. The campaign won Universal McCann Malaysia a gold in digital search at the 2011 Malaysian Media Awards.