It may not be easy to discuss, but one-third of women who have periods experience “high-menstrual bleeding” (HMB) that may require doubling up on pads or replacing tampons at high-frequencies. But the problem is more than an inconvenience; it is a medical condition that can be treated.
To demystify HMB, Bayer is launching a new multi-channel marketing campaign to bring awareness to the condition and point women experiencing it to a possible solution in the form of Mirena, an FDA-approved IUD to treat heavy periods for up to five years.
“Around 51% of women who experience heavy periods think this is just something that needs to be put up with and often don’t say anything to their doctor,” said Cheryl Kerr, Bayer’s executive director of marketing. “This is exactly why we felt a consumer-focused campaign to raise awareness about heavy periods was so important. We want to encourage women to stop suffering in silence and have a real conversation with their doctor with the goal of improving HMB diagnosis and treatment rates.”
The effort “flips the script” on the phrase “Seeing Red,” Kerr said. A commercial in the campaign depicts a woman having trouble finding something to wear and feeling generally upset at her HMB condition. As the spot goes on, the color red begins to take on a more positive hue, appearing as a bright wall of fresh paint, lipstick, shoes, sunglasses and a children’s slide. By the end of the commercial, the woman is smiling and confident.
“This campaign is quite a departure from what we have done in the past,” Kerr said. “Prior to launching ‘Seeing Red’ we were more focused on the long-term contraceptive benefit of IUDs which is still important to communicate but this is the first time we lead with heavy periods.”
In addition to the commercial, the campaign partnerships with healthcare providers, lifestyle and travel content creators on Instagram and Tik Tok, and a custom content collaboration with Betches Media and their Diet Starts Tomorrow social channels and podcast.
“Additionally, the entire Mirena webpage has been updated to feature new statistics and information for the ‘Seeing Red’ campaign,” Kerr said. “The hope is that through this campaign, HMB will be understood and recognized as a condition that can greatly impact a woman’s life but that she doesn’t have to just ‘deal with it.’”
