Telling a brand story
An emdash case study about positioning Emzor as a leader in the African pharmaceutical landscape.
Emzor is a Nigerian pharmaceutical company, founded by Dr. Stella Okoli, in the early 1980s. Since then, Emzor has grown by leaps and bounds. They needed a website that reflected the strength of their legacy as well as their vision for the future. In collaboration with Kaladi Consulting, emdash got to work.
Client: Kaladi Consulting, Chennai on behalf of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Nigeria (“Emzor”)
Project: Website content and design
Engagement model: Project-based
Our process
Step 0: Preparation and research
Before reviewing with the customer, we went around the Internet looking for companies in their frame of reference, globally and in Nigeria. We developed an understanding of what’s important in the pharmaceutical industry landscape, built a framework of items to be included in the website, and learned a bit about language, style and tone in the arena. Little did we know that the answers we needed weren’t available outside!
Step 1: Identifying the brand story
Started by a young doctor, in a humble chemist’s shop many years ago, the culture of Emzor was rooted in their ‘legacy’. However, those who have climbed the ranks over the years were proud of the ‘ecosystem’ they belong to, and their impact on it. And then, the $25M enterprise today, had the ‘vision’ to grow multi-fold in the next few years.
The Emzor story needed to be anchored on one of these three ideas. To help the customer know the true impact of their decision, we presented three working prototypes of their website. In this we were guided by Kaladi Consulting, who were the Prime Consultants at Emzor, acting as a useful sounding board and liaison with the Emzor team.
Step 2: Building consensus
Naturally, the customer wanted elements from all three. Sigh.
We went back to the drawing board to bring the three ideas together to form a coherent narrative. Our research teams looked for input from the market; our writers reconciled the information on spreadsheets; Ranjani and Gopal obsessed about brand positioning.
Together, we chose the ‘vision for the future’ as our anchor and presented the ideas of legacy and ecosystem to support that argument. It was only right, given their strong, meaningful and purpose-driven vision: Wellocracy.
Step 3: Content, design and content design
Once the positioning was on solid ground, emdash’s writers and designers came together to ensure that the website had a singular for brand Emzor: Commitment to Wellocracy.
Emzor’s vision for the world is the democratization of health and wellness — It is their purpose, promise, mantra and goal. Throughout the website, we wrote copy to present this vision, and approach all aspects of the brand through the prism of Wellocracy.
Step 4: Adding layers to the story
We built each section on the website with a layered approach of Emzor’s brand story. For instance, the ‘history of Emzor’ section focused on legacy, pivoted around how it powers the present and the future.
From a very humble beginning as a retail chemist’s shop in January 1977 to one of Nigeria’s most respected, indigenous multi-billion Naira pharmaceutical companies today, we have come a long way.
The ‘Wellocracy’ section was used to show that Emzor lives by their promise of Wellocracy — from compliance initiatives, CSR to their distribution and pricing strategy.
The ‘Emzor World’ section brought together all of Emzor’s touch points. The careers section invited people to be a Wellocract.
One of the Strongest Pillars of Emzor’s Commitment to ‘Wellocracy for All’ is our People. Come, be a Wellocrat!
Step 5: The obvious and not-so-obvious touches
We added their entire range of products — 118 in total — to their website, for easy access to information to their audience. We also listed all their office/factory/warehouse addresses on their website, so far never available in one place. We added knowledge centre to provide people with reliable source of information (inevitable in the times of fake news).
Emzor’s marketing team was a thorough and meticulous client — providing complete information, reviewing it at every stage and helping curate content to ensure we had the right data, images and the like. We thoroughly combed through the content to ensure SEO compatibility.
Outcomes
Preparing them to pursue their ambition for the future, the new website:
— Is on par with global pharma brands in terms of clarity of communication and visual outlook. Perhaps the best among indigenous Nigerian pharma companies.
— Presents a clear, articulate, and strong brand story.
— Lists all product information in one place, demonstrating the depth of Emzor’s work.
— Positions Emzor in a pan-Africa/global business landscape as a player with meaningful impact.
emdash’s ability to quickly understand the domain as well as our vision for the website was the key factor in successful launch of the Emzor website. Technical skills apart, we were pleasantly surprised each time they brought out a theme, a new design, or a new way of telling the story. Therein lies their customer focus and the ability to go the extra mile to get it right.
— Anand Kalidas, CEO, Kaladi Consulting
Team on account
Account director: Ranjani
Delivery lead: Gopal
Writers: Ranjani and Gowri
Designer: Harish
Developer: Aditya
Do you have a story?
Let emdash tell your story for you. Write to work@emdash.in to speak to us now!
