Corsodyl: Using Scare Tactics to Influence Consumer Behavior

Abstract:

This case study discusses the strategies adopted by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to influence consumers to purchase the products of its oral care brand, Corsodyl. GSK had become known for its unnerving ad campaigns for Corsodyl. The case explores how GSK designed these campaigns to highlight how ignoring the early signs of gum illness would eventually lead to tooth loss. The case also reviews the various ad campaigns of Corsodyl, which repeatedly resorted to scare tactics to persuade consumers to maintain proper oral hygiene in general and by using Corsodyl products in particular. The case also presents the measures adopted by GSK to ensure that enough awareness was created around oral hygiene by creating a fear among the consumers by showing the extreme consequences of ignoring the early indicators of gum disease and how Corsodyl helped to prevent as well as treat gum diseases. At the end, the case facilitates a critical discussion on GSK’s strategy to influence consumer behavior and the strengths and potential limitations attached to it. The question remains whether, this was the right method to attract consumers toward oral hygiene, specifically Corsodyl products.

Issues: » Analyze the importance of the marketing strategy in influencing consumer behavior. » Understand the different stages in the consumer buying behavior model. » Study the different steps in the buying decision process. » Examine the factors influencing consumer behavior. Introduction Corsodyl, an oral care brand owned by British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), had become known for its unnerving ad campaigns. Through these campaigns, GSK intended to highlight the results of ignoring the early signs of gum illness, which would eventually lead to tooth loss. Corsodyl repeatedly resorted to scare tactics to influence consumer behavior toward maintaining oral hygiene in general and using Corsodyl products in particular. GlaxoSmithKline plc, a British pharmaceutical company headquartered in Brentford, London, was established in 2000, after a merger between Glaxo Wellcome plc and SmithKline Beecham plc. GSK, a science-led global healthcare company, was involved in researching and developing a wide range of innovative products in the three primary categories of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and consumer healthcare. Corsodyl, one of GSK’s prominent brands, offered a wide variety of oral care products ranging from mouthwashes, toothpastes, and oral spray, to mouth gel and toothbrushes. These were categorized under the ‘Protect’ and ‘Treat’ variants...

Key words:
Consumer Behavior, Buying decision process, Advertising, GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK), Sales Promotion, Scare Tactics, Corsodyl, Ad Campaign, Integrated Marketing Communications, Consumer Buyer Behavior, Buying decision process, The factors influencing consumer behavior, States of consumer buying behavior

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