WHO
In June 2005, Pfizer launched Healthy Directions to its 43,000 U.S. employees and their families at over 40 locations across the nation. David Langton of Langton Cherubino Group explains, “Healthy Directions is a revolutionary new approach to health management. It’s an easy-to-use, personalized system that promotes healthy behaviors and makes it easy to achieve measurable health improvements. Langton Cherubino Group was brought in by Mercer Human Resource Consulting to design an overall brand and materials for a comprehensive communication campaign for a health and wellness program that helps Pfizer colleagues and their families achieve better health and, in turn, helps them manage increasing medical costs.”

WHAT
Langton Cherubino design director Jim Keller, along with designers Janet Giampietro, Langton, and Norman Cherubino, began brainstorming “Healthy Directions” themes. One theme used photography of people “going in healthy directions” where each image had a directional thrust; another theme featured photos of road signs and painted arrows. “We listened carefully to Pfizer’s concerns about how the campaign should look. Pfizer required an approach that was clearly distinctive, while being prominent among their HR communications,” Langton notes. “Featuring real people in the artwork was a foremost concern so we visited the manufacturing plant and met the people and saw the actual facilities.” The Healthy Directions brand achieves a distinctive look with a consistent logotype that always appears in orange and black. The typography is simple and direct in keeping with the goals of the program articulated by the tagline: “It’s easier than you think.” Langton Cherubino developed a Visual Identity Guide that establishes standards for all communications programs including print, online, premiums, on-site exhibitions, and videos. Cherubino art directed and commissioned more than 60 original illustrations by John Pirman.

WHERE
The program was launched with a Healthy Directions kit for employees that included a drawstring bag, a bottle of water, nutrition bar, and informational brochures. In addition to the kits, Langton Cherubino created on-site materials such as posters and banners, and provided new artwork for the WebMD portal where employees and their families are encouraged to go for more information and sign up for the program. Langton elaborates, “One of the main objectives was to drive employees and their family members to register on the Healthy Directions website. The design of the components and the artwork was well received by employees and management.”

WHEN
“The initiative has exceeded all strategic objectives and is considered a resounding success by Pfizer leadership. Within four months of launch, 81 percent of colleagues and 44 percent of dependents completed the health questionnaire, and the numbers continue to increase,” Langton says. “Pfizer is poised to reach its three-year goal in only six months. This high level of interest attracted immediate attention from senior executives and showed that Pfizer colleagues are ready for a program that benefits their health, and the health of their families.” Since the initial Healthy Directions launch, Langton Cherubino created a “Healthy Strides” walking prototype program last fall. “We are now preparing for a Puerto Rico launch and are working on the next phase of Healthy Directions for the U.S. employees,” Langton says.

WHY
Healthy Directions is becoming a way of life at Pfizer. And, while it’s too soon to measure the trend of employee health or cost savings, it’s evident that participants are doing more than simply registering on the portal; they are taking the first, critical steps in Healthy Directions. “Our results show that the communication strategy, high-touch approach, materials, and program incentives were effective in motivating colleagues to action,” Langton explains. “This is an exciting program to work on. The Pfizer HR teams are constantly working to improve communications and update results. They have active participation from Pfizer’s CEO Hank McKinnell who established the challenge for the program, ‘to blaze a new path of colleague wellness to help people take better control of their own health and prove that we are willing to put our own efforts behind our sincerest beliefs.’” This is a lead all major corporations should follow.
LANGTON CHERUBINO GROUP | www.langtoncherubino.com | 212.533.2585