Fighting the Flu
with Humana

Despite its incredible effectiveness, the flu vaccine has one of the lowest immunization rates in the United States. Humana Inc., a health insurance giant with 13 million customers, releases a marketing campaign each year to encourage more people to get a flu shot. The company was looking for a new approach which would optimize its campaign messaging across multiple channels and verticals, while also better educating its customer base about the wisdom of getting a flu shot.

Learning from the Past

The previous year’s flu campaign, in 2015, yielded low rates of flu-vaccine adoption. There were a number of reasons why the campaign failed. Much of the content was not mobile-friendly, it was overly text-heavy, and it didn’t include a clear call-to-action. Customers didn’t respond to the encouragement. Based on successful partnerships in the past, Humana called on me to strategically push relevancy, engagement, and customization across devices with the 2016-2017 campaign.

Working Toward a Healthier Future

My team worked with Humana to deliver content that was engaging and relevant to consumer-identified topics of interest at various phases of the flu season. I developed a series of 12 emails designed to educate its customer base about the flu, dispel some common misconceptions, and encourage everyone to keep themselves and their loved ones safe by getting a flu shot.

The messages launched between October of 2016 and February of 2017. All emails were mobile responsive (as the 2015 campaign was not), and key performance indicators (KPIs) were refined and improved. The team also designed and developed an interactive infographic to live on Humana.com and direct visitors to learning-center pages. The new emails and strategic social Facebook posts drove awareness and ultimately persuaded Humana members to get vaccinated.

By the Numbers

The 2016-17 flu campaign accomplished the following versus the previous year's efforts:

Lift

30% lift in open rate

Increase

348% increase in click-through rate

Fewer

56% fewer unsubscribes

A Dose of Fun

My team tested 5 variations of the email creative, with personalized messaging and value propositions for each target segment. These variations included a control test, flu shot coupons, and rewards incentives. The campaign boasted a 30% lift in open rate year-over-year, as well as an astounding 348% increase in click-thru rate and a 247% lift in effective rate. Most surprisingly, there were 56% fewer unsubscribes.