The launch campaign for Merck women’s health spinoff Organon debuts today with ads celebrating the next big advancement in women’s health—a microphone.
The purposeful icon represents Organon’s plan to turn the microphone over to women—and not only listen to their voices, but amplify them, too.
Debut video ads begin with a voiceover talking about how women face very different challenges from men in healthcare, and “maybe the biggest is that our voices are not always heard.”
Organon’s pre-launch research revealed the need. “[O]ne of our big a-ha’s is that women are doing a lot of talking, but no one is really listening,” Wendy Lund, Organon chief communications officer, said. “We’re not just launching a company, we’re launching a commitment.”
Organon’s inaugural brand campaign includes print ads in The New York Times and The Washington Post, along with digital video ads online and in paid social media. There's also a debut media event at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
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Along with ringing the NYSE morning bell inside the exchange, Organon will display a giant video wall outside, featuring 200 women across a range of ages, demographics and professions, including well-known ones such as the First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy. The curated commentary from women includes comments such as "I want women to feel empowered, to prioritize their own health," and "Women's health concerns are unique: The solutions need to be too."
The newly launched website invites women to write to Organon and tell the brand which area of women’s health has been overlooked.
“Our vision is a better and healthier every day for every woman, taking a very broad approach,” Lund said. “And understanding that this industry is screaming for innovation. There hasn’t been a lot of innovation, for instance, if you look at something like menopause—we’re having the same conversation that we had 13 years ago.”
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Hardly a typical start-up, Organon opens its doors with more than 60 products and some 10,000 employees in 140 countries. Lund, an industry veteran herself, joined Organon earlier this year after 11 years as CEO of GCI Health, a public relations and communications agency.
“At the end of the day, we are a pharmaceutical company, but we are the only company of our size dedicated to women’s health,” Lund said. “Our goal is going to not appear as a traditional pharma company, but present ourselves in a way that women can relate to, understand and speak to.”