How This Canadian Fertility Clinic Challenged the Meaning of ‘Natural’
On paper, fertility is a tricky subject. This is mostly due to the fact that for whatever reason, it’s considered abnormal to talk about. At most, you might hear a couple admit that they’re ‘trying for a baby’, but generally, it’s something that’s left alone until after the pregnancy is confirmed.
Ten times harder is talking about infertility. ‘Yeah, we’re doing a bunch of clinical procedures to try for a baby, since we’re struggling to conceive naturally’... said few couples casually, ever. And, it’s not hard to understand why. You take the aforementioned taboo, combine that with a strong sense of personal disappointment that one’s body isn’t doing the things it’s biologically expected to do, and sprinkle in a handful of judgemental people who consider fertility routes to be ‘unnatural’ - who would really want to admit to that?
Of course, those feelings of guilt or shame are fundamentally wrong. And this is something which Pollin, a fertility clinic in Toronto, is rapidly trying to instil in people, with the help of creative agency Diamond, and a strong new brand positioning called ‘What Is Natural Anyways?’. Centring around a series of strong OOH pieces, the work lives up to its title and challenges viewers to redefine their definition of ‘natural’. Because, while a man and a woman making a baby the old fashioned way might be natural, equally so is a woman taking control of her own fertility, or same sex partners wanting a child. In short, the path to fertility is not singular, no matter what people believe.
To learn more about how this came to life, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Diamond’s chief strategy officer, Lori Davison, and chief creative officer, Peter Ignazi, for a chat.
LBB> Notably, Diamond has really helped build Pollin from the ground up. As such, what was the brief for this campaign, and what immediate ideas came to mind?
Lori> The brief was to invent a new healthcare ‘category’ that most Torontonians didn’t even imagine would exist. After all, in Canada, we think of fertility clinics as treatment locations you get referred to, not as a category of branded options you can choose from.
Peter> As it came through in the launch work, there was always a strong desire to put empathy and humanity into a traditionally clinical experience.
LBB> Right from the get go, this campaign is a first-of-its-kind endeavour. What inspired the decision to move on from conventional service marketing, and why was this something you wanted to do?
Lori> We believe Pollin Fertility Care appeals to people who are seeking individualised care. And so we want, first and foremost, to recognise the individuality of Pollin patients. That means embracing the unconventional. Pollin is here for people who are looking for a path to parenthood. From wherever they begin that journey.
LBB> With an ask like that, creatively and strategically, where does one get started? What was the initial ideation process like?
Lori> We talked a lot about why fertility treatment is something people don’t talk about.
In general, we expect our lives to unfold so that the things that traditionally ‘come natural’ - come easily. It’s a blow to our identity when biology says no. On top of that devastation, we are made to feel shame about pursuing the alternatives. Imagine that, feeling shame for seeking necessary interventions in order to bear a child.
Luckily we are in a time when conversation is taking place. And Pollin is actively inviting that conversation. ‘This is Natural’ is about that.
Peter> Our starting point was to think about ‘what is the state of mind for people in this situation?’. That state is mostly a feeling of isolation and stigma. One of the prompts from Lori was, ‘They are PC - we are Mac’, and that made us think about this brand as providing an injection of humanity into the conversation - providing a point of view that has not been there before.
LBB> Smashing stigma and redefining social perceptions of ‘natural’ are not easy tasks. As such, how did you incorporate research to approach this in an impactful way, making sure people get the message without being excessive about it?
Peter> It is a careful line to tow - being attention grabbing to address the reality without being sensational, ensuring empathy above all. That is where the vetting of first person perspective is always incredibly important, and with one in six having experienced infertility, unfortunately, there were many opinions we could tap into to ensure we were striking the right note.
This was the approach we took all throughout the campaign, including the recent OOH work.
LBB> Specifically, the photos (OOH) are very beautiful. What was the creation process like, and do you have a favourite piece?
Peter> It was all about reflecting as many individual scenarios as possible so each unique journey or individual path to parenthood could feel seen. So, we tried to make every piece tell a different aspect of the story. Obviously, the one where we have a very ‘clinical’ looking lab shot juxtaposed with the line ‘This is natural’ works very hard because it tackles the perception in the most overt way possible. (It’s also the one to which people seem to respond the strongest).
Personally, I’m also quite happy with the same sex couple one because it challenges some unfortunately lingering prejudices out there. However, ultimately any that make someone, no matter their circumstance, feel like they’re doing something ‘natural’ by conceiving, are my favourites.
LBB> What lessons have you learned from the making of this campaign?
Peter> Talking with people who have been through fertility clearly illuminates the need to humanise the experience much more… and that is why Pollin exists. But the real learning for me in the making of this is how prevalent it is for people to not talk about their infertility. It really is a topic shrouded in taboo and judgement.
LBB> Since launch, how have people responded to this campaign?
Peter> The response from the industry has been outstanding, but more meaningful has been those that have reached out yet are not even in marketing at all - clients of Pollin, people struggling with their own infertility, etc. It goes to show that a simple insight and execution can have immense power, since they themselves are the power.
LBB> Finally, has making this campaign made you reconsider what ‘natural’ actually means?
Peter & Lori> I think we both had broad definitions of ‘natural’ before we even defined the platform, which is why it is resonating so well; many people have different experiences and many people understand that - we just need everyone to understand.
