Sanitas health insurance is known throughout Switzerland, but its brand message is not. This is a particular hindrance when acquiring new customers. With integrated strategic media planning that prioritizes attention at every stage of the marketing funnel, Webrepublic shows a measurable link between brand familiarity and key business objectives.

Project overview

Initial Position

Sanitas's brand messages are not sufficiently anchored in its target group

The health insurance company Sanitas is known throughout Switzerland. However, market research surveys showed that of the core target group Sanitas wants to attract, only 29% were familiar with its brand message. This has made it difficult for the company to expand its customer base.

    • Sector:Healthcare

    Goals

    In 2022, Sanitas needed an effective campaign to communicate its brand message to its target group and anchor it in their minds for the long term. The aim was to ensure that Sanitas would be considered a preferred healthcare partner when switching insurance providers. Our annual strategy was aimed at repeatedly bringing the Sanitas brand to the attention of consumers, using techniques that would ensure the target group not only saw the brand message, but actively followed it and would remember it later.

    • Effective campaign to convey brand message to target audience and anchor it in memory
    • Sanitas is considered a preferred healthcare partner when switching insurers

    Measures

    Holistic 360° moving image strategy based on "lean-back" channels

    With YouTube, we reached the appropriate target groups via Connected TV while they were in a relaxed "lean-back" posture. In these moments, users were more likely to watch ads in full. In linear TV, we preferred special placements combined with live events on channels with low advertising loads. This allowed us to benefit from higher visual attention and exclusivity while achieving measurably higher recall than a traditional approach. Social media as a high-reach "lean forward" format with dedicated short spots completed the video strategy.

     

    Maximizing share of voice thanks to good timing.

    We spread Sanitas's brand message more effectively and cost-efficiently by choosing a time for the branding campaign less in demand and therefore neglected by competitors. The higher exclusivity also contributed to higher awareness.

     

    Specially developed algorithm for Attention

    With the Attention Bidder, Webrepublic developed its own algorithm that considered multiple data points and decided in real time how best to deploy the budget. This made it possible to optimize the display ads used and achieve the greatest possible attention from the intended target audience.

     

    Dedicated performance campaign with individual messages

    We launched the performance campaign in time for the start of the hot health insurance change phase in the fall. By this time, Sanitas had established itself as a health partner among potential new customers. The target groups were addressed with individual messages based on age and geo-targeting to maximize user relevance while minimizing lead generation costs.

    Results

    Every second person in Switzerland remembers the Sanitas campaign

    The attention-first strategy developed by Webrepublic worked: Spontaneous awareness improved by 32% in the target group, while brand familiarity increased by 16%. In August, almost every second Swiss citizen said they remembered the campaign. The Attention Bidder developed by Webrepublic achieved 11% more viewable time of digital campaigns at the same cost and successfully optimized for larger ad formats (+89% more) and larger screens (+34% more). Thanks to the focus on attention and the dedicated performance campaign in the fall, the set number of leads was exceeded by 160% and costs were reduced by 73%.

    • Lead increase by 160%
    • Cost reduction by 73%
    • 47% of Swiss remember the campaign