Thermo Fisher Toxicology
Solving a campaign problem that was thought to be unsolvable
THE CHALLENGE
Mass spectrometry is one of the most powerful analytical tools in toxicology, more sensitive, more versatile, and capable of identifying both known and unknown substances with far greater depth than traditional clinical chemistry assays. But for years, Thermo Fisher couldn't get internal stakeholders aligned around how to market it.
The obstacles were significant.
The technology was harder to use than what most labs were accustomed to, making adoption a tough sell.
Purchasing decisions in the field were driven largely by personal relationships, not brand.
Thermo Fisher needed to speak credibly to four audiences with fundamentally different motivations: forensic labs, reference labs, university and hospital labs, and sports anti-doping labs. Everything from crime scenes to camel racing.
THE INSIGHT
Through our research process, we identified the organizing principle that had been hiding in plain sight. Beneath the surface differences, these four audiences sorted into two groups: labs looking to grow their business, and labs looking to push the boundaries of what toxicology could do.
Thermo Fisher wasn't just selling instruments. It had the opportunity to champion the field itself, positioning its best-in-class mass spec technology and partnership approach as the force pushing toxicology forward. A single overarching position that spoke to every audience, while creating the architecture for communications that could go deeper with each one.
THE BRAND POSITION
TOXICOLOGY SOLUTIONS THAT PUSH TOXICOLOGY FORWARD, inspiring labs toward new possibilities to expand their research and grow their business.
THE CAMPAIGN
The brand position wasn't just a tagline. It was a strategic framework that determined how the campaign had to be built. With four distinct audiences, a one-size-fits-all approach would have flattened the message. Instead, we developed a segmented campaign system where the overarching platform held together while each execution spoke directly to the motivations of its audience.
Each execution featured a visually distinctive human figure rendered in an audience-specific color palette, giving the campaign an ownable look while signaling to each audience that Thermo Fisher understood the world they operated in. Forensic labs saw themselves in it. So did anti-doping labs. So did clinical researchers.
The campaign extended across PR, content, social, sales materials and convention tactics, each channel informed by the same strategic foundation.
RESULTS
For the first time, Thermo Fisher had a cohesive brand presence in a category that had never figured out how to lead with brand. Internal stakeholders across marketing, sales and product development aligned around a strategy built on their own market realities, which made execution faster and buy-in genuine. The campaign gave voice to a challenge that had gone unsolved for years, and gave Thermo Fisher the platform to own the conversation about where toxicology is headed.
