CONCEPTING + LEADERSHIP case study

Credelio

What

The canine ecto parasiticide market was growing and evolving. The market growth in flea and tick control was driven by entry of spot on generics and entry of new routes of administration as alternatives to topicals like collars and oral tablets. The oral ecto market was considered the next innovation in ecto parasite control due to its easy oral administration, efficacy and safety to owner and family versus topical spot ons.

Elanco was entering this space 4th to market but, the shift towards oral treatments created an opportunity for Elanco to enter the market by adopting a “switching” strategy for vets and owners within the topical spot on ecto category as well as capturing new puppy owners.

I was brought in to lead the creative charge with our team at Sandbox. Our goal was to create awareness of the Credelio brand name as an oral canine chewable tablet that is fast acting with sustained speed throughout the month from day 1 to day 30.

From initial market research conducted by the client, we were able to find insights and powerful truths about our audiences. We found that true animal lover vets and owners are willing to go above and beyond to keep their pets healthy and happy, no matter what the cost. We learned that our dog lovers are the kind of people who take their dogs everywhere with them, throw them birthday parties, and sometimes even treat their dogs better than they treat themselves. With all of this info in hand, I led a team of creatives to do initial concepting, casting a wide net and plusing up each other’s ideas to create compelling options.

How

The client was thrilled with our initial creative and we narrowed down to a handful of concepts and moved into vigorous market research. We tested globally with both vets and owners in our target audience. The overwhelming feedback was to move forward with the “Like Family” concept. The concept won over the audience with its authenticity, sentiment to family and category relevance. You wouldn’t want your child in a tub with your dog if it had fleas. It hit home in many ways to both of our audiences.

We then took our core concept and gave it legs, creating a shot list consisting of intimate family moments between children, owners and dogs. We also sourced an amazing photographer and cast to make sure the shots were really authentic and stood out in the crowded flea and tick market. Most competitors were doing really generic imagery of dogs alone playing with toys. Our goal was to show really intimate moments, so you saw “Family” before you even read the headline.

The shoot was a huge success, thanks to Mark Katzman, Paul Nordmann, and their fantastic crew, two incredibly talented photographers who jumped right into our concept with us and made it come to life in a big way. Our teams worked flawlessly together and solidified our commitment to each other. The client was enamored by the entire process. We even had two rescue puppy models that were adopted by the human models at the shoot.

We continued working on deliverables as we shot our imagery to make sure we made our tight deadline. We developed an approachable font style, color palette and iconography for the brand. We then pulled it all together and created all deliverables as well as brand standards to share globally with the wider Elanco team. We also did a short internal video to boost excitement using some of the b-roll from the shoot and so people could find out how to pronounce Credelio, a hot debate within the Elanco team.

Why

The initial creative we delivered was very well received and solidified our relationship with the client. Our next creative challenge for the Credelio brand was to create top-of-mind awareness of Credelio through smart, disruptive creative that would grab the audience’s attention and make them understand that a dog feels emotionally banished when its daily life is temporarily disrupted due to the intrusion of fleas and ticks.

Since the category was rife with conventions, we also needed to push the boundaries and cut through to make an impact and generate interest. Our next campaign approach was based on the idea that Credelio takes care of fleas and ticks allowing dogs who are more than “Just Dogs” to live their lives uninterrupted. The ideas developed were based around the dog’s point of view of a flea and tick infestation.

The overwhelming response through more market research was that the “Upside Down” concept created the most tension and interest. So, with that, and more testing insights, we created the second campaign by enlisting two new partners, Almost Gold and Lisa Predko, to help us bring our idea to life. The key for this campaign was to make it uniquely memorable and to truly nail the dog expression to get to the core of our messaging, that’s easy to do with a puppy, right?! The shoot was a really fun and unique challenge and the work was very well received.

With the success of our campaign creative as well as solidifying and growing client relationships within Elanco, I continued to lead creative for various Elanco products. I worked closely with amazing and talented creatives across all of our Sandbox offices, coming up with new ways for remote collaboration. We had a lot of fun creating awesome work together and always delighting the clients along the way.

Tools + Methods

Adobe Creative Suite
InVision
Microsoft Office
Product Strategy
User-Centered Research
Data Analysis
Persona Development
Journey Mapping
Sketching
Wireframing
Visual Design
Design Systems
Creative Direction
Copywriting
Graphic Design
Marketing Strategy
Creative Problem Solving
Personal Development
Collaborative Leadership
Creative Briefs
Storyboarding
Motion Graphics
Photo & Video Production
Human & Puppy Casting
Image Editing
Client Relationship Building