Nicotex: ICanYouCan

5 min read

MMA Smarties, Bronze, Global, 2018

SUMMARY
Nicotex, a nicotine gum, was able to establish its brand as an enabler for those who
want to quit smoking in India via stories expressed through digital and mobile media.

• With the difficulty of the task in mind, Nicotex's campaign wanted to inspire smokers to
start or continue their journey, and drive a simple message: quitting smoking might be
difficult, but it certainly is not impossible.
• The 'I Can You Can' campaign brought to life the real story of three smokers and three
quitters conquering their personal challenge in a first-of-its-kind six episodic series.
• With around 65% of the media budget allocated to mobile and digital marketing,
Nicotex relied largely on mobile during this six-month long campaign to have a
'Conversation-Always-On' approach through multiple customized formats of content.
• Nicotex managed to change smokers' perception with 87% smokers believing that
Nicotex does indeed help in quitting smoking.

TOPICS

Campaign details
Brand: Nicotex
Lead Agency: m/SIX
Region: APAC

Strategy

Objective

Quitting smoking is difficult. The objective of Nicotex's campaign was to make intenders
believe that it is possible to quit smoking, demonstrate success stories of people who've
already quit smoking and simultaneously inspire other smokers who want to quit. This would
establish Nicotex as an enabler in this journey of conquering one's personal Everest. The
campaign kickstarted with a contest asking people to either send in stories of their ongoing
struggle to quit smoking or success stories of how they managed to kick the habit. Milind
Soman and Atul Kasbekar shared videos talking about their stories of struggle and
encouraged their fans to give up the habit reiterating that if they can quit smoking, anyone
can.

Three smokers and three ex-smokers were chosen from thousands of contest entries online
for an adventurous journey to the Everest basecamp giving birth to a 6-episode TV show +
web series called I CAN YOU CAN which was hosted by the epitome of fitness - Milind
Soman.
We understood the constant struggle of smokers who are trying to quit. This campaign was
designed specifically to inspire smokers to start or continue this difficult journey, and drive a
simple message – Quitting smoking might be difficult, but it certainly is not impossible.
Through this campaign we showcased inspirational stories of how many have already quit or
are trying to quit smoking.

Target Audience

While Nicotex as an NRT brand is recommended and targeted to anyone who consumes
tobacco and intents to quit, the core TG of the brand is pre-dominantly males in the age group
of 25 – 44yrs since 89% of smokers in India are Males. Majority of smokers turn intenders to
quit smoking at specific life stages – when they get married, have their first child, or the child
starts questioning them on their habit. Along with being conscious about their own health,
external influences like family, friends keep reinforcing their concerns and increase their
motivation to quit.

Creative Strategy

To create a platform which brought Smokers & Quitters together to develop a new social
narrative around 'Quitting' lead by real - life quitting journeys.

The #ICanYouCan platform was developed for quitters to partner with smokers and help
them conquer their personal Everest.

Through a mass outreach campaign, we invited the audiences to share how they are
conquering their personal Everest using #ICanYouCan, and get a chance to join the quest to
Everest Base Camp.

We roped in relevant & relatable KOL's like Milind Soman, Atul Kasbekar & Anrunima
Sinha to drive credibility.

In the next phase, we developed a 6-episode digital video series. The original content series
drove the message that climbing Everest is not just about the destination, it's also about a
mindset, like quitting smoking

Context

The 'I Can You Can' campaign was an extension of Nicotex's ambitious dream of a smoking
free India and their previous campaign '#UQuitIQuit'. From having a dedicated app to track a
smokers quitting journey in the previous year, 'I Can You Can' took a radically different
approach this year by partnering with an OTT platform (Viu) and devising a well-designed
influencer strategy, with a mobile-first approach to reach out to the core TG who spend more
than 80% of their time consuming content on-the-go.

Execution

Overall Campaign Execution

Nicotex had set out to change a smoker mindset and habit of quitting his addiction. While TV
as a medium to a certain degree helped with the reach, the movement's success largely
depended on ensuring constant conversations and triggering the thought amongst smokers.
With around 65% of the media budget allocated to mobile and digital marketing, Nicotex
relied largely on mobile during this 6-month long campaign to have a 'Conversation-Always-
On' approach through multiple customized formats of content.

The movement bought together a plethora of influencers like Atul Kasbekar, Milind Soman
and others who were more than eager to share their personal story of quitting that a smoker
can relate to. Our mobile and digital strategy helped us ensure that these stories create a
conversation with the right TG. An adaptive content strategy guaranteed that these stories
were served to the TG in forms and formats that they like to consume content.

By creating a weekly episodic series, we sustained conversations among the TG by sending

periodic reminders and catch-up content.

Mobile Execution

'I Can You Can' bought to life the real story of 3 smokers and 3 quitters conquering their
personal Everest in a first-of-its-kind 6 episodic series. A content template like this is more
receptive to the viewer when he consumes this in his own private space. Our partnership with
Viu, helped us address the challenges with appointment viewing and allowed the viewer to
consume multiple long and short form of content at their own convenience.

Starting off the campaign with a call for entry through a dedicated microsite and precise
targeting, Nicotex set out to reach out to it's core TG through mobile & digital. Nicotex
partnered with a budding OTT platform (Viu) to ensure that the campaign reaches out to the
digital savvy audience.

The brand also engaged with the audience through influencers across social media. Through
strategic partnership with Viu to be the exclusive digital broadcaster for the show, we ensured
that it reaches out to Viu's massive audience base of 10 million+ across their ecosystem
through push notifications, retargeting, in-app ads and weekly reminders and consume
content at their own will and comfort on-the-go.

Business Impact (Results)

Context

Nicotex as an NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) brand enjoys high awareness, but low
on consideration. It operates in a challenging space when it comes to communication. Firstly,
it aims at addressing an addiction and changing user habits and mindset, which is an up-hill
task by itself. Secondly, smokers have very little faith in NRTs.

The category communication usually focuses on the negatives of smoking rather than
highlighting the benefits of quitting. They often tend to be preachy and resort to gory images.

Every smoker knows the hazards of smoking but the addiction is so fierce that they ignore
such messaging.

Evaluation
The struggles for a smoker to quit his addiction is real. With 'I Can You Can' – Nicotex
revolutionized the traditional form of 'Quit Smoking' communication by creating a new and
positive template. It did this while engaging people in the brand philosophy of choosing life
over smoking in an inspiring and engaging story-telling on mobile.

Not only did more people choose to quit smoking but the unique content based campaign
format helped people re-enforce the belief that they can lead a smoke free, fulfilling life by
replacing an addiction with a positive change in lifestyle

• Through this campaign, Nicotex managed to change a smokers perception with 87%
smokers believing that Nicotex does indeed help in quitting smoking.
• The campaign managed to reach out to 93% of its TG and garnered more than 9
Million views (and counting) on Viu's assets.
• With our social and mobile strategy, the campaign created enormous buzz and
engagement with more than 130K conversations around #ICanYouCan.

Market Impact

The struggles for a smoker to quit his addiction is real. With 'I Can You Can' – Nicotex
revolutionized the traditional form of 'Quit Smoking' communication by creating a new and
positive template that challenged the reliance on regular - TVC approach, and focused on
long format content to serve the brand philosophy in an inspiring and engaging story-telling
that is genuine and relatable.

With our strategic partnerships in place, Nicotex has become the pioneer in the category to
create a unique branded adventure reality show that was simulcast on a niche channel on TV
and a mass OTT platform to reach out to a larger TG base for engagement and viewership.

The branded content format also delivered in involving the audiences in the journey and
managed to reinforce believability towards the brand.