Flu Season Marketing

With flu season fast approaching, and after weeks of putting off getting my flu shot, I finally listened to my mom’s persistent recommendation and stopped by my local CVS to get it over with.
While some people don’t mind getting shots, I am one to especially dread it. However, I was pleasantly surprised to leave with more than just a complimentary Band-Aid. I was also given a coupon – something I didn’t see advertised anywhere on my walk from the parking lot to the pharmacy inside.

What I did see were multiple signs advertising flu shots at CVS as convenient, with walk-in appointments available at no- to low-cost. Even on CVS’ website, the coupon – $5 off of $25 – is only advertised three pages into clicks to get more information about flu shots.
I’m someone who gets a flu shot every year, but I am not easily persuaded to go out of my way to be pricked with a needle. In fact, it usually takes multiple reminders from my mom to even get me in the door.

While convenience is great, I was left thinking “What’s in it for me?” Sure it’s saving me from an agonizing bout with the flu in the long run, but in the immediate future it just leaves me with an inconveniently sore arm for a few days. Not a great incentive.

That being said, had I known I could get a $5 off coupon it would have gotten me in the door much sooner. As a PR pro, I also wonder why this incentive was left in the dark. Clearly, the no-cost approach is being offered to families, with the ad literally saying “no-cost flu shots for the whole family,” but I’m curious why CVS didn’t make more of an effort to target my audience (millennials on a budget) in its flu shot campaign.

While it’s not targeting me, clearly the approach is working to target my mom, who got her flu shot three weeks ago.