Knowing that being in the right place at the right time with the right message is the holy grail for marketers, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and CMI Media Group leveraged a new offering from LinkedIn and negotiated a partnership with a leading KOL to move the needle for the launch of COBENFY™ (xanomeline and trospium chloride). CMI research showed that the target audience of HCP prioritized peer broad awareness and confidence among healthcare providers (HCPs). Partnering with CMI Media Group, BMS leveraged LinkedIn's new Thought Leader Ad format to amplify an organic video endorsement from a key opinion leader (KOL). This strategy tapped into the KOL's established network, targeting relevant HCPs at scale and fostering credible, peer-to-peer conversations.
The "COBENFY™: Amplifying Authentic Peer-to-Peer Conversation on LinkedIn" campaign prioritized authenticity, allowing the KOL to self-record a natural, unscripted video that reached thousands of followers. This innovative approach delivered outstanding results: engagement rates soared 313% above the pharmaceutical industry benchmark and click-through rates and engagement rates were 287% higher than previous COBENFY video ads. The campaign also achieved 54% longer dwell time and double-digit follower growth for the KOL. Critically, COBENFY experienced an 80% increase in aided awareness within just three months, demonstrating the profound impact of authentic, peer-driven content on LinkedIn.
Our "COBENFY™: Amplifying Authentic Peer-to-Peer Conversation" campaign was brought to life through a strategic and innovative approach centered on genuine peer-to-peer communication. Our plan began by identifying a prominent Key Opinion Leader (KOL) within the physician community who possessed foundational knowledge of COBENFY™ and was already an active, trusted voice on LinkedIn. We then collaborated with KOL to co-create an organic video endorsement, empowering them to craft their own script based on approved talking points, ensuring authenticity over a scripted, promotional feel. This self-recorded video, captured personally by the KOL, became the cornerstone of our execution. We leveraged LinkedIn's newly released Thought Leader Ad format to strategically amplify this authentic content, utilizing the platform's robust targeting capabilities (job title, company, industry, and third-party data) to reach the most relevant healthcare providers (HCPs) at scale. A significant challenge was navigating the pharmaceutical industry's heavily regulated environment while preserving the desired authenticity; we overcame this by providing flexible guidance and allowing the KOL to develop their own narrative, which then underwent the necessary approval processes. Another hurdle was cutting through market noise, which we addressed by pivoting from traditional brand-centric messaging to a peer-driven approach, directly tapping into and elevating existing, trusted conversations among HCPs. This innovative merging of authentic, self-generated content with precise paid promotion is what made our work unique. It allowed us to seamlessly integrate into the HCP community's dialogue rather than interrupt it, resulting in exceptional performance: engagement and click-through rates over three times higher than traditional ad formats, 54% longer dwell time, and an 80% increase in aided awareness for COBENFY™ within just three months, demonstrating the profound impact of authentic, peer-led content in the pharmaceutical space.
Our efforts were a resounding success, demonstrably meeting and exceeding our objectives. The campaign achieved an impressive 80% increase in aided awareness for COBENFY™ within just three months, directly fulfilling our goal to build broad and targeted awareness rapidly. Our objective to foster deep peer-to-peer engagement was spectacularly met, with engagement rates 313% higher than the pharmaceutical industry benchmark and 297% higher than previous COBENFY™ video ads, indicating meaningful interaction and conversation. Furthermore, the 54% longer dwell time on the video content, coupled with double-digit follower growth for the KOL, confirmed that we successfully established confidence and educated HCPs on the product's clinical profile through authentic, trusted insights. This strong engagement and increased awareness, evidenced by click-through rates 287% higher than previous ads, positioned COBENFY™ for increased consideration and adoption. By significantly outperforming all relevant benchmarks and achieving such a substantial brand lift through an innovative, authentic approach, we consider this campaign a definitive success.
