• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, May 23, 2024

Combining a message of equity for diverse female body types with a pitch for Slynd birth control pills, a YouTube video titled “Let’s Love Everybody,” has racked up nearly 39 million million views in just three months.

How?

“We’ve been doing a lot of digital marketing, leveraging all the platforms, and using sophisticated tools to make sure we’re reaching the appropriate audience,” Randi Rievman, vice president of marketing and strategic communications for Slynd marketer Exeltis USA, explains to Pharma & Marketing Insider. Also, “We’re talking about a message that is much more powerful than just being about birth control….I don't think anybody in the pregnancy prevention space has ever had messaging like this.”

The “Let’s Love Every Body” campaign stems in part from Slynd’s use of plus-sized women in its clinical studies, for which 35% of participants had BMIs over 30 (defined as “obese” by the Centers for Disease Control). That’s “unlike what you see with other contraceptives,” says Rievman, noting that the studies showed that having a high BMI “in no way affects the safety and efficacy of the product.”

The campaign also aims to get across Slynd’s other advantages over its competitors, which would include not only that it’s estrogen-free, but that, unlike with other estrogen-free birth control products such as the “minipill,” Slynd users have 24 hours rather than just three “to catch up on a missed pill.”

High-BMI women, who may not realize that “they could end up at some point having estrogen-related risk factors,” are one of several priority audience segments cited by Rievman. Other priority segments include women “who are conscious of what they put on or into their bodies” and thus want to avoid hormones, including estrogen.

Based on activity in response to ads, or via a website feature that curates content based on answering some questions, these target audiences get served up different information in stages as they journey from little knowledge about Slynd at the top of the funnel to a great deal of knowledge at the bottom of the funnel. The final funnel step: asking their doctor if Slynd is right for them.

“It’s not like you just say something once and it’s going to really be impactful,” Rievman explains. “There’s a lot of dimensions to how you can educate and expose and make something like this be important enough for a woman to actually want to go into their doctor.

“In this space, doctors are much more open to women asking about a specific brand, because it’s more of a lifestyle type of product, and what’s really important is that a woman has the ability to know enough to ask the right questions.”

Rievman cites call-to-action conversions as the steps that bring women “closer and closer to wanting to ask for Slynd.” Actions tracked as key indicators of that readiness include downloading doctor discussion guide or a savings card, contacting Slynd’s nurse hotline, or even accessing a provided telemedicine site.

In addition to the long-form anthem video, website, display ads and social media posts, “Let’s Love Everybody” -- from creative agency Bear in the Hall and digital agency Spark Growth -- also includes the use of influencers like OB-GYNs, nutritionists, fitness instructors, and other health-and-wellness experts.

“We’re talking to women that have been underserved when it comes to healthcare,” says Rievman. “It’s all about trying to change the conversation and really be a part of a movement,” so that “women feel like they can be talking about their health and their birth control in a different way.”

What’s next for five-year-old Slynd?

“There’s a lot of legs to this campaign, so we can continue to evolve it,” she replies. “We’re kind of just getting going.”