Submitted by Richmond & Towers Communications

Breathing in the Great Outdoors with Fisherman's Friend

Richmond & Towers Communications ran an outdoor-pursuits influencer campaign repositioning Fisherman's Friend for hay fever season, reporting 37,621 engagements across 6 influencers.

Across 6 influencers, we achieved 37,621 engagements, with an engagement rate of 45% (the industry average is 1.45%, FYI)engagement rate
We got in front of thousands of people with our hay fever message - 83,924, to be exactreach

Case in 60 seconds

Fisherman's Friend is read by consumers as a cold and flu relief product, and the agency states that the majority of the brand's sales happen during the winter months, which concentrates demand into one season and leaves the rest of the year underused.

The campaign appears to turn on the observation that the symptoms consumers already associate with the product, blocked noses and sore throats, recur outside winter for the millions across the UK who deal with hay fever-induced congestion.

Rather than arguing the seasonal case through advertising, the agency placed the lozenge inside the hay fever usage occasion itself, showing it in the hands of people already outdoors during the season the brand wanted to claim.

Six influencers whose content is focused on outdoor pursuits created Instagram Reels of themselves on an outdoor adventure of choice with a pack of Fisherman's Friend in hand, and a competition offered their followers a Fisherman's Friend hamper.

The agency reports 37,621 engagements across 6 influencers, an engagement rate of 45% against a stated industry average of 1.45%, reach of 83,924 people, and double digit sales rises during the hay fever season for two years in a row.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Consumers across the country who suffer from hay fever, described by the agency as millions across the UK dealing with hay fever-induced congestion, reached through audiences that follow outdoor pursuits content.
Hay fever is a widely shared seasonal complaint with the same symptoms as a winter cold, while the remedies consumers reach for are sorted by season rather than by symptom, which left an occasion open that the brand could claim.
Lozenge brands are locked to the cold and flu calendar, and the agency states that the majority of Fisherman's Friend sales happen during the winter months, so growth depended on establishing a second season rather than winning a larger share of the first.
Fisherman's Friend was positioned as a companion for the outdoors during hay fever season, keeping breath fresh and airways clear, which reframes the product as something carried year round rather than bought when ill.
Based on the available evidence, the campaign assumes that hay fever sufferers do not think of a lozenge as relief for their symptoms, so the work had to show the product in use outdoors rather than describe the benefit.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Instagram

Partners

  • Richmond & Towers Communications (lead_agency)

Participation mechanic

  • A competition run through the influencers, giving their followers the chance to win a Fisherman's Friend hamper.

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult type
engagement rateAcross 6 influencers, we achieved 37,621 engagements, with an engagement rate of 45% (the industry average is 1.45%, FYI)engagement_rate
reachWe got in front of thousands of people with our hay fever message - 83,924, to be exactreach

Why Richmond & Towers Communications's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Casting on content territory rather than follower scale puts a product inside the moment it is meant to serve, because an outdoor creator's post carries the usage occasion without the brand having to explain it.

  2. 2

    A seasonal extension works better as a demonstration than as a claim, because audience comments such as "I hadn't ever considered that for hay fever" show the perception shift happening in the content rather than being asserted by the brand.

  3. 3

    Attaching a prize mechanic to creator content buys visibility beyond the post itself, which the agency credits with driving further reach for the brand alongside the Reels.

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