4460 blog 13: Luden's revitalizes Lozenges

Everyone has had a sore throat at one time or another. Chances are, the sore throat is treated with a lozenge. One of the more well known names in the lozenge market is Luden’s, a company which has been around since 1881. Luden’s is declining in popularity and so they’ve begun a new marketing campaign, designed to appeal based on taste instead of need. Luden’s wants its consumers to choose a Luden’s lozenge because it tastes good and looks good and because it works well. To this end, Luden’s has begun a new marketing strategy.

Luden’s hired street teams to stand outside performance events like the opera and pass out samples of their lozenges to attendees, according to this article. The idea is to prevent anyone from coughing or having to clear their throat during the performance. Street teams will also pass out samples at ski resorts and other locations where sore throats tend to thrive. This campaign is smart because it appeals to a need and that makes it more valuable in the consumer’s eyes.

The Luden’s company is undergoing its own change. It was acquired in late 2010 by Prestige Brands, a company specifically designed to take old brands and rejuvenate them. Prestige has introduced a new orange flavor for the lozenges and launched a new advertising campaign designed to appeal to a consumer’s taste. Prestige also owns Chloraseptic, a more serious throat soother, and plans to revitalize that brand’s image as well. Both Chloraseptic and Luden’s are old brands who enjoyed popularity for many years but are now beginning to decline.

From a PR perspective, this new campaign is smart. Prestige and Luden’s are not trying to market the lozenge as something it isn’t, but are rather capitalizing on another aspect of the lozenge. They want to evoke that sense of nostalgia, remembering when a Luden’s lozenge was used as a kid. They also do taste pretty good. It’s a smart way to revitalize an old brand, and using the street teams is a great idea. The lozenges are passed out just when they might be needed most, and this helps them to stick in the consumer’s mind. I suppose that only results will show if this campaign has any effect, but I think it has a lot of potential to bring Luden’s back in popularity.