Maltofer becomes market leader in just three years using bursts of bathroom advertising

Aspen Australia is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Australia. It is an entrepreneurial-driven company, with one of the most comprehensive portfolios of medicines in the country.  

Maltofer – one of Aspen’s many brands, offers oral iron therapy for the treatment of iron deficiency, and is available in 80+ countries around the globe.  

Working with agency, Bohemia Group, Convenience Advertising was engaged by Aspen Pharmacare to launch the Maltofer brand of oral iron supplements for their first consumer advertising campaign, to drive reach and cut through with their core target audience of women aged 35 to 54.  

As a challenger brand with negligible market share and limited marketing budget, the main challenge was to develop a campaign that would disrupt a market dominated by one main player that had a much larger media spend.  

A common side effect of iron supplements is constipation, which can lead to a host of other health problems. Maltofer was the first brand in Australia to offer a supplement significantly less likely to cause constipation, presenting Maltofer with the opportunity to become a market leader. 

Convenience Advertising delivered a comprehensive and targeted campaign, aimed at women aged 35 to 54. The campaign featured in female bathrooms in high traffic shopping centres across the country. A range of Maltofer's ads were strategically placed in shopping centres where pharmacies stocked the product. 

The strategy combined creative execution that spoke directly to the common side-effect of constipation, highlighting the main point of difference for Maltofer, in a contextually relevant place – the bathroom.  

• Venue type: High-traffic shopping centres 
• Locations: 5 capital cities across Australia 

“Campaigns we’ve run with Convenience Advertising across the Aspen portfolio have helped deliver real market results. As the primary channel utilised, it helped propel one brand to category leader and another to the #2 SKU in the category.” 

– Joshua Harrison, Business Director, Bohemia Group