Background

Genea, a world-leading fertility clinic, saw their Australian market share slipping. Once an industry leader, their competitors’ share of voice had increased and relegated Genea to the middle of the pack. To make matters worse, IVF advertising in Australia is a sea of sameness with brands following the same category conventions. With brands and their marketing interchangeable in the minds of patients, media budgets play a huge factor in market share. Unfortunately, Genea’s media budget meant we couldn’t outshout our competition, so the only option was to outthink them and find a way to make Genea a market leader once again. Our brief and objectives covered four main points: Drive an increase in Genea consultations & web traffic Make Genea top of mind among the IVF audience Broaden awareness of the brand outside those currently thinking about fertility treatments (especially among a younger demographic) Reaffirm Genea as a market leader

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

When it comes to conception, society still focuses on natural sex between a man and a woman. Yet 1 in 20 children are conceived via IVF. But with a lack of public acknowledgment that this is a normal way to have a baby, people with fertility issues feel stigmatised and unable to talk about it. To make Genea top of mind among patients and drive action, we wanted to break this stigma. So we rewrote the story of ‘Where babies come from’ and made IVF as natural as sex. The rebrand challenged every category norm. Instead of highlighting the sterile, medical nature of IVF, we captured the joy of conception and making babies, no matter where they come from. A provocative tone, bright colours, playful typography and modern illustrations helped us connect to a younger audience – with each touchpoint a far-cry away from what has been done before.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

Playful and positive, the new Genea brand shares the story of where babies come from in a light-hearted way that stands out from an otherwise sterile IVF category. The rebrand touched every part of the business — patient and doctor brochures, posters, banners, emails, social posts, appointment cards, business cards, balloons, bandaids, a film, and even a kids book. Every piece of communication became an opportunity to tell our new IVF story.

List the results (20% of vote)

We started in the IVF community, but soon the story of where babies come from was being talked about in the wider community and was covered by national TV news. This resulted in an earned media reach of 5.1 million. (In Australian terms, that’s ¼ of the population). We reached 92% of our target audience on social media and increased patient engagement by +27% MoM leading to an increase in site traffic increased by 121% Importantly the story of where babies come from was no longer just about natural conception. Genea managed to broaden the story to include IVF too.