Creative Strategy
Abbott
Client Abbott Laboratories & Supported Business Divsions
Involvement Brand Marketing, Creative Strategy, Associate Creative Direction, and Copywriting
Year 2022
Contributors Brand Direction: Caitlin Carlson, Chris Gorz, Deanna Cardone, Global Marketing Direction: Joana Arujo, Ogilviy Agency, Creative Art Direction & Design: Elite Communications Group and Corporate Brand Creative at Abbott
Inspiring a Fuller Life Through Game-Changing Solutions

As a leader in healthcare and science, Abbott puts grit, science, and purpose into everything they do. A positive outlook is at the core of Abbott's success. Whether helping communities around the world or partnering locally, they're dedicated to making the world a better place. Through multichannel campaigns, benchmarking research, and storytelling, we expanded Abbott's unified brand in collaboration with the leadership of Global Marketing & External Affairs and their creative teams for both their corporate marketing department (Creative Network) and internal design agency (Brand Creative). The following categories were the focus of our efforts:

  1. CORPORATE: Enhance awareness of Abbott and create emotional connections to make it easier for stakeholders to understand, trust, and prefer Abbott

  2. EXPERTISE (DIVISION): Deliver winning value propositions for businesses and consumers that better position and enable Abbott to compete.

  3. PRODUCT/SERVICE: Deliver differentiated benefits to drive selection, deepen engagement, and reinforce value Abbott provides.
Using Abbott’s brand guidelines to develop marketing strategies, research, and brand evolution.

Embarking on this fascinating endeavor, our team collaborated closely with Abbott to explore the intricacies of their brand and discover innovative ways to elevate their market presence. Throughout the partnership, the focus remained on understanding Abbott's core values and goals. This insight steered the research, strategies, and brand evolution, ensuring that the final outcome not only aligned with the company's objectives, but also resonated with their target audience. Working with such a renowned organization was incredibly rewarding, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas and expertise, which ultimately contributed to the successful evolution of the Abbott brand.

Our team dove headfirst into research, design, and strategy to craft comprehensive research decks: Creative Team Structure Proposition and Benchmarking for Abbott. Each aspect of the research, from structure to proposal, received meticulous attention and thoughtful curation. Demonstrating genuine passion and teamwork, we skillfully assembled a pitch and thorough research and competative analysis.

Concepting Ideas That Bring the Abbott Brand to a New Level

Spearheaded brainstorming sessions that delved into deep innovation and imagination.The objective was to spark inspiration within the team, pushing the boundaries of what's possible and encouraging the exploration of new ideas. By asking thought-provoking questions about Abbott's audience and their enthusiasm for technology, the sessions aimed to foster a deeper understanding of the company's target market and the potential avenues for reaching them.

Throughout these brainstorming sessions, the focus was on nurturing an environment where creative ideas could flourish, and where each member of The Creative Network felt empowered to contribute their unique insights and perspectives. By challenging conventional thinking and emphasizing the importance of understanding Abbott's audience, these sessions led to the emergence of fresh, groundbreaking concepts that resonated with the target market. Ultimately, this creative collaboration helped drive the development of impactful, technology-driven solutions, further cementing Abbott's position as an industry leader.

Writing and Designing a Guide for Responsible Marketing at Abbott

The responsibility of consulting on the production of the Responsible Marketing Playbook was both exciting and crucial. This playbook outlines Abbott's values, strategies, and standards for inclusive marketing, aiming to equip marketers and communicators with the knowledge and tools to make more inclusive decisions across the marketing ecosystem. By adhering to these guidelines, the marketing teams at Abbott can develop campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences and foster a sense of belonging.

Additionally, the creation of the Creative Content Guide played a significant role in driving more inclusive and authentic creative and content execution. This guide covers key considerations and poses critical questions that help ensure content aligns with Abbott's commitment to inclusivity. By addressing these factors during the creative process, the company can successfully enhance its brand image and cultivate a culture of inclusivity that transcends all marketing efforts. Collaborating closely with the Brand Creative leadership to create the guide while concurrently consulting on the Responsible Marketing Playbook demanded genuine dedication to teamwork. It was an absolute delight to take on the dual role of writing and designing the Creative and Content Guide, a key component of Abbott's Responsible Marketing Playbook.

Creative Strategy for Abbott’s Be the 1 Donor Partnership With Blood Centers of America

I enjoyed the privilege of working closely with executive teams, developing strategies, briefs, corporate messaging structures, and curating corporate imagery. I consulted and guided agency creative teams while staying true to Abbott's distinctive tone of voice – Pioneering, Caring, and Life-Changing. This approach ensures that Abbott's brand and consumer relationships flourish continuously.

As Abbott joined forces with The Blood Centers of America to inspire a new generation of lifelong donors, like Millenials and Gen Z, with a focus centered on Zillennials and college students. The aim was to revolutionize the blood donation process, encouraging a more sustainable blood supply through consistent donations.

To accomplish this, we collaborated with renowned creative agencies such as Ogilvy, GCI Health, Elite Agency, and Abbott's own Creative Network, launching campaigns across multiple channels. We also partnered with Dr. Mike, a social media doctor influencer and Microsoft to help launch mixed-reality tech at blood donation sites with the HoloLens2

Summer Campaign

Craft a sizzling Summer campaign that captivates Zillennials, igniting their passion for making a real difference in the world. Simultaneously, energize Abbott's corporate audience to inspire the Zillennials in their lives to contribute and become part of the powerful movement.

Mixed-Reality & One Donation/One Tree

Initially set to launch side by side, One Donation/One Tree and Mixed-Reality were two captivating activations designed to follow the successful "Give Blood. Get Back." formula, brought to life by Ogilvy Agency the previous year. However, after careful consideration, it became clear that Abbott and mixed-reality showcased a more tech-forward approach. My team proposed focusing on a single main activation post-summer and building upon that momentum. My team led the creative strategy in partnership with Ogilviy Agency and Elite Communications group to ensure storytelling and verbiage met not only Abbott corporate standards but the medical regulations standards for Blood Transfusion.  Additionally, we co-wrote Dr. Mike's script and I suggested leveraging our partnership with Dr. Mike for CES 2023 and integrating mixed-reality into an immersive aspect of Abbott's CES booth experience.

Play Video

Our efforts led to a 25% increase in donations, resulting in 13 million more blood donors than the previous year.

Creative Consulting & Strategy for Consumer Technology Association Event (CES) 2023

Breathing life into an enthralling booth exhibit is a truly collaborative journey, bringing together the expertise and creativity of various individuals to ensure the vision unfolds successfully. From the very beginning, our dedicated team delved into researching and benchmarking other prominent brands, taking inspiration from their accomplishments and learning valuable lessons to identify the most effective ways to extend Abbott's brand reach and make a lasting impact.

Our comprehensive process spanned across an array of key elements, such as ideation pitch decks, insightful retail strategy thinking, cutting-edge tech visuals, immersive ideation sessions, inventive concepting, and finely-tuned creative strategy. Each aspect played a crucial role in shaping the final outcome, culminating in a captivating and memorable experience for the audience.

Moreover, our team designed an engaging storyboard for an interactive touchscreen video that would draw the audience into Abbott's world. The exciting appearance of Dr. Mike, further elevating the anticipation and buzz surrounding the event. Every detail was meticulously considered, ultimately resulting in an authentic and captivating booth exhibit that truly resonated with visitors.

Beyond the Booth: Conveying Emotion, Energy & Impact

Following the insightful research and benchmarking process led by my team, we started exploring various visual ideas using mock up booth templates to conceptualize a truly engaging booth experience. Our focus was on crafting a unique space that would seamlessly interact with each visitor while offering immersive elements that would captivate and resonate with the audience.

Reaching the Unreachable Touchscreen

My team initially focused on high-level concepting before shifting to other projects. However, a week before the event, the Sr. Marketing Manager and I were tasked with an urgent creation of a motion graphics storyboard for a touchscreen display section called "Reaching the Unreachable". I led the creative design and copy, providing art direction for their motion graphics agency to realize our vision. Below you can see the storyboard and the video shows how that section worked alongside the rest of the narrative (put together by Abbott's internal creative agency).

The Final Result

It fills me with immense pride to witness the remarkable collaboration between our skilled creative teams, resulting in a captivating, interactive, and immersive booth. The opportunity to contribute to the evolution of a historic brand like Abbott by guiding high-level concepting and strategy has been genuinely inspiring. Along this journey, we've discovered innovative ways to connect with audiences, forging deeper connections through storytelling and design. The collective passion and dedication of everyone involved has truly elevated the final outcome. It's been an honor to play a part in shaping the future of Abbott, a brand that continues to inspire generations.