CHALLENGE

Make people think of CVS as more than just a corner drugstore.

OBJECTIVE

Show consumers and influencers (policymakers, C-suite executives, investors) that CVS Health is an innovative player in healthcare.

STATEGY

• Rebrand the company as CVS Health and tell the story of its parts (CVS/pharmacy, CVS/minuteclinic, CVS/specialty, CVS/caremark), while introducing its new mission: bringing better health to more people.

• Showcase the company’s innovations and bold actions, leading with decision to stop selling tobacco.

EXECUTION

One-day publicity blitz

• NYC event with 50-foot-tall self-crushing cigarette, where execs conducted press interviews.

• Company executives ringing opening bell at N.Y. Stock Exchange.

• Social media war-room reacting to posts in real time.

• Giveaways in all 7,700 CVS/pharmacy locations.

OUTCOME

Revenue growth across CVS Health in Q4. Plus, dramatic improvement in positive sentiment toward company, 110+ news stories, including on NBC Nightly News, over five million YouTube views, and 50,000 Twitter mentions within hours, including one from Michelle Obama.

Smokers were used to stopping by their local CVS/pharmacy store to pick up a pack of cigarettes. So we replaced the cigarettes in the stores with The Last Pack — a pack that looks and feels like a cigarette pack, but instead helps people quit smoking.

We then designed the contents of the pack to help the smokers through every step of their quit journey.

• A step-by-step workbook that helps people quit smoking

• Coupons for nicotine replacement products that help kick the addiction

• A guide to resources such as free-smoking assessments and cessation programs

• Fun stuff, like a book of puzzles and games to distract smokers when they felt the urge

Thousands used The Last Pack to help them quit smoking by participating in free smoking assessments, cessation programs, helplines, etc.

The campaign was talked about in 110+ unique news stories, and praised by public figures such as the First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Last Pack became so popular that the U.S. Congress requested 2,000 packs for meetings with key influencers to help America become smoke free.

And there were significant shifts in perception of CVS/pharmacy as a “Health Company.”