COURTLYNN CASE STUDIES

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Our pharmaceutical client was creating their first DTC campaign for a cardiovascular drug. Without much experience with patient/caregiver advertising, the Client wanted to uncover how patients and caregivers talk about cardiovascular events and prevention, and to translate those insights into clear, compelling messaging for a national DTC television campaign.

More specifically, the client wanted to:

• Understand emotional and cognitive responses to heart attack and stroke risk
• Explore expectations around physician-led treatment recommendations
• Identify how patients and caregivers process information about new drug therapies   
• Determine the role of visuals in comprehension, confidence, and advocacy

CourtLynn Inc. felt that a qualiative research study should be commissioned to provide the direction needed to create winning advertising. CourtLynn was responsible for managing the study, and working with the vendor to provide key direction for insights that would be both actionable and impactful.

• CourtLynn Inc. worked closely with the research vendor to provide actionable conclusions including: emotional language patients and caregivers used to discuss their disease state, how they comprehend the workings of treatments and their reliance on their doctors to provide the right treatment.
• CourtLynn then worked with the marketing team and the advertising agency to refine the strategic position, key messaging and how to communicate the mechicanism of action (MOA) so patients would understand how the drug therapy worked.  

The resulting DTC campaign (TV & Print):

• Successfully integrated both visual and audio descriptions of the drug’s mechanism of action making it clear to patients how the drug worked.
• Marked a first for the advertising agency, setting a new standard for clarity and comprehension
• Improved patient understanding and recall
• Empowered patients and caregivers to engage more confidently in treatment discussions

This work contributed to the client's brand having sales that exceeded expectations and projections.

A major consumer goods company was preparing to introduce new packaging for an established brand in an increasingly competitive category. With more options on shelf and heightened visual clutter, the client needed packaging that would stand out, engage consumers, and influence purchase decisions at the point of sale.
 

While the team recognized the growing emphasis competitors were placing on fragrance, they lacked clarity on what elements truly mattered most to consumers—and what should be emphasized on the label to drive choice.

To address this challenge, CourtLynn designed a combination exploratory and concept qualitative research program. This approach allowed the team to first uncover underlying consumer needs and decision drivers, and then evaluate how well emerging packaging concepts communicated those priorities.
 

Through in-depth qualitative exploration, CourtLynn assessed core purchase drivers within the category, the relative importance of functional versus sensory cues, and how consumers interpreted packaging graphics, claims, and visual hierarchy.

The research revealed a clear and consistent finding: moisture was the primary driver of purchase, regardless of fragrance. While fragrance remained an important secondary cue, it did not outweigh consumers’ need for functional reassurance.
 

This insight challenged category norms and clarified how consumers prioritized information on the package—highlighting the need to lead with performance while supporting, rather than over-indexing on, fragrance.

Armed with these insights, CourtLynn provided the client with clear strategic guidance on how to rebalance messaging and visual emphasis on the new packaging. The findings directly informed decisions around graphic hierarchy and label callouts, the role of fragrance in supporting—not leading—the story, and how to communicate performance benefits quickly and clearly on shelf.
 

The resulting packaging refresh contributed to increased sales. Beyond the immediate launch, the lessons from this research were incorporated into the client’s packaging toolkit, shaping future package refreshes and ensuring long-term consistency rooted in consumer insight.