The power of real 

Peer-to-peer word of mouth is especially influential in the weight loss market. Indeed, when GlaxoSmithKline first launched alli^® (the only FDA-approved over-the-counter weight loss drug) in 2007, the online and in-mainstream-media voices of early alli users were hugely valuable in building the brand’s credibility, proving its success, addressing concerns about potential treatment effects, and contributing to the most successful new consumer healthcare product launch in the company’s history.

The subsequent sales lift the brand saw from commercials featuring the endorsement of real pharmacists and consumers reinforced their belief that authentic unscripted stories from “ordinary” people were the key to driving product trial and ongoing usage.

But even alli has not been immune to the recessionary pressures that have caused an across-the-board drop in discretionary consumer spending. So, to stem a decline in sales and foster the continued proper use of alli among repeat buyers, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Health knew that they had to acknowledge the struggles and build on the successes of alli users: ordinary consumers who would not shill inauthentic stories of miracle drugs, but instead share every step of their weight-loss efforts with others on the same path. Based on the success of the alli First Team — the small private online community run by Communispace that produced the brand consumer advocates so important to the product launch — they knew that the best way to nurture that high engagement and intimate storytelling among alli users was through another Communispace community.

“People who are trying to lose weight are tied together by common threads,” explains Kim Rentler, Shopper Marketing Manager at GSK. “They want to lose weight for different reasons — to be there for their families, to be more successful at work, to improve their health, or for simple vanity — but though they have different tipping points, they experience the same challenges, and relate to each other’s successes, both small and big.”

Building on that insight, alli Senior Brand Manager, Judith Lim, and Fíona Noone, Managing Director of Promotional and Shopper Marketing at Ryan Partnership Chicago, realized that a small, intimate, insight- and support-generating community of alli users could provide a steady stream of both reality and inspiration to fuel “my alli story,” a monthly feature in The Costco Connection magazine that would tell “real weight-loss stories” from “real Costco members.”

Using a small community to reinforce a big one 

As a retailer specializing in providing good value through repeat purchases of proven products, Costco was an ideal customer with whom GSK could pilot this new approach using The Costco Connection magazine to help promote alli education and compliance. And, because this retailer thinks of its 60 million members as a community, they were particularly open to the notion of showcasing the ongoing alli journey of other Costco shoppers to their eight million readers. 

Both partners believed that through creating a private online community of Costco members who were alli users and then enabling other Costco members to follow their stories, there would be a ripple effect that would not only boost sales, but strengthen these consumers’ trust in and relationship with both the retailer and the product. Both partners were right. 

In the fall of 2010, Communispace reached out to alli users and Costco members, inviting them to take a brief screener to qualify for membership in a small private online community in which they’d be asked to discuss their challenges and successes, provide honest feedback to both GSK and Costco, and potentially tell their stories in The Costco Connection and/or on the retailer’s website. In exchange for their ongoing participation in this community, they’d receive free alli. As part of the screening process, they were asked to briefly describe why they wanted to lose weight and do so with alli.

As community members talked with one another each week about lifestyle changes, support systems from family and friends, self-image, aspirations, meal planning, and changes in shopping habits and needs, a group of consumers emerged whose voices were eloquent and unique, but whose stories were universal. Working closely with Communispace, Fíona Noone and her colleagues from Ryan Partnership Chicago culled the “best of” content to populate their monthly spot in The Costco Connection. 

Community members also talked about how they shopped at Costco, providing the retailer with an ongoing look inside the heads and hearts of its members. The community provided both Costco and GSK with the ability to support their business decisions with timely gut-checks and feedback.

An impact measured in product sold, relationships forged, and myths dispelled 

“It’s converting people to our franchise — we’re seeing the sales,” notes Judith Lim. “We always knew that advocates were important, but we never knew how important until we were able to activate them within the walls of Costco.”

For GSK, in an economic climate and category in which flat growth is considered a success, alli sales at Costco have significantly exceeded those at other retailers. More importantly, they’ve been consistent and sustained, not subject to the two seasonal spikes (“New Year’s” and “Bathing Suit Season”) and dips typically seen at other retailers.

Costco’s profitability is driven not by product sales, but by memberships, so they try to cultivate a sense of community among members — and, in so doing, strengthen their relationships with the retailer. Showcasing Costco members engaged in a life-changing struggle to which so many Americans could relate, while also providing the eight million readers of The Costco Connection an opportunity to check in on and follow the progress of their peers each month, let them do just that.

“This community helped GSK build a successful partnership with Costco,” says Kim Rentler, “and not only changed the way we do business with them, but changed the way they work with other manufacturers.” The insights, content and goodwill generated by the community have strengthened the relationship between Costco and GSK Consumer Healthcare. Based on the success of this program, GSK and Costco have entered into a cross-category, cross-brand annual contract that provides substantial and predictable revenue for Costco and cost savings for GSK.

While the original intent of this program was to fuel alli compliance — repeat and proper usage by consumers who had already made the decision to try the product — its impact has extended well beyond that. In fact, 35% of all alli purchases at Costco are now from first-time buyers. “People hear stories and are afraid of treatment effects,” notes Judith Lim, “so the impact of being educated by trusted sources — real people like them — is uniquely powerful.”

As for the community members, their commitment to themselves, to each other, to Costco, and to the alli brand has strengthened and endured. Indeed, as of this writing, it appears likely that some community members will move on to become voices of alli in national and global advertising.

Relying on the power of trusted sources — other “people like me” — to help consumers understand how alli works and whether it is a good option for them, has proven to be such a powerful model that it has been showcased as “Global Best in Class” at GSK, and has helped to make Consumer Voices the core strategy for the alli brand in 2012. Indeed, despite announced plans to divest the alli brand, GSK Consumer Healthcare is extending and expanding their community of alli shoppers. They see it as a major asset, one that will help to bolster the value of the brand and enhance GSK’s relationships with other retailers. Similar to the emotional connections Costco members have with the alli brand, there are avid Walmart, Target and Walgreens shoppers that GSK can tap into for future partnerships as well.

Just as important, however, is that Judith Lim sees this approach to consumer education and advocacy as exemplifying GSK’s corporate values.

“It’s our job and our duty to do our best for our consumers and the brand,” said Judith Lim. “Consumer safety is our number one priority.”