Karla Cimed, Vice President of Pharmaceuticals, tells about the secrets that led to the success of the partnership with Fini
In recent days, social networks have been invaded by a kind of “treasure hunt” for the launch of Cimed, in partnership with Fini, the lip moisturizer Carmed Fini.
The product has three of the traditional scents of the Spanish company’s candies, namely Dentures, Banana and Kisses, the latter being the first lip moisturizer with the pharmaceutical company’s color. The partnership went viral on social media, making people really want the Carmed Fini.
when i buy my carmed de fini i will be like this all day pic.twitter.com/ATdbaQNO9X
— Juliana (@jumoreirads) May 24, 2023
@gabbisafira7 He found it in bra #carmedfini #finibeijos #carmed #carmedfinibeijos #fini #simed All I want – _spxdupsounds
going to sleep thinking about him Carmed de fini pic.twitter.com/zdubobAExI
— University Dept. (@universitariaOF) May 26, 2023
The start of the partnership
To better understand how the most talked about partnership of the month started, the propmark spoke with Karla Marques Felmanas, vice-president of Grupo Cimed, the pharmacist responsible for the production and distribution of Carmed products.
“Fini is already very strong in the channel of the big chains, such as DrogaRaia, Drogaria So Paulo, etc, and they were interested in entering the market of small neighborhood pharmacies and approached us, asking if we weren’t interested in starting to distribute their products “, said the executive.
Through Fini’s contact with the commercial team of the Cimed Group, meetings were started, which resulted in the idea of Carmed + Fini. “What’s cool about collab that, both Carmed and Fini’s sweets, this thing where you want to keep passing it, you know? Candy has that too, you opened the package and want to keep eating. We joined two brands that are already super loved and that is the great success”, completes Karla.
The collab’s communication strategy
Karla Cimed stated that she imagined that the collab had the potential to become a rage on networks like TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, especially since the first samples of product development impressed the Cimed team. “You can even generate a purchase expectation, but when the purchase actually happens and the product is good, the customer likes it and success. He does the advertising for us”, he said.
Despite a whole fun strategy having been previously designed by the team, Karla explains that viralization arrived with an unpretentious video posted on her TikTok profile.
“40 days ago, I went to the factory, made a video of the Carmed Fini production and uploaded it to TikTok. At first, this video was for our in-house salespeople, but when it was published, the networks started to fuss. Recording and posting videos is a natural thing for me to do, it wasn’t specifically designed for this release”, revealed Karla.
@karlacimed @Carmed j guaranteeing mine kkkk #cimed #karlacimed #carmedfini Funny Song – Cavendish Music
As stated by the businesswoman, recording content for networks is part of her routine, but when Karla realized the buzz that was generated on top of the products, it was necessary to accelerate productions to make the Carmeds reach the public as quickly as possible.
“I called Fini and asked them to send us the aromas of the candies as soon as possible. We accelerated as much as we could, we started to distribute and release the videos. The thing started to grow and became a kind of gamified thing, the people left desperate behind the product that is still being distributed. The pharmacies are still receiving the products, making the registrations and this is not a quick process. It has become a kind of hunt for Carmed”, emphasized the VP of Cimed.
In order for the subject to remain high, the Cimed Group began sending products to influencers with whom they already had contact, such as Lvia Nunes, an influencer married to Adibe Marques, a Stoke Car driver and son of João Adibe Marques, CEO and President of the Cimed Group. “I asked her to stop by Cimed at the end of the day to take the Carmed and distribute it to the people who do her makeup and everything else. That started to make noise. She came, we made a video and it went viral”, said Karla.
@livianunesmarques TESTING Carmed X Bala Fini Simply surreal!!!! Too cute, taste like candy, moisturizes your mouth a lot, you need to go to the pharmacy NOW #tiktok #carmed #beautytips @Carmed Bad Habit – Lissa
Launch engagement became organic and, therefore, the company began mapping the influencers who would receive kits with the product, all with a handwritten letter and delivered by the businesswoman’s driver. “We made some personalized kits, as was the case with Malu Borges, who is a huge influencer and has a daughter. She made the video receiving it and people loved it. I sent it in a shipping box, with a handwritten letter and my driver who delivered,” he added.
@ maluborgesm2 Replying to @ som original – Malu vlogs
Karla says that Cimed’s communication structure thought it was crazy for her to send the products without the press kit, but that she couldn’t let the wave cool down in the nets. “I told them that the subject was happening at that time, it couldn’t wait. Like a trend, it lasts 48 hours and if you don’t surf that wave at that moment, you don’t surf anymore”, he explained.
The hype for the product is so great that the VP said that there are people going to pharmacies, buying the products and posting them on the networks as if Cimed had sent them to them.
“There are people who are going to the pharmacy, buying everything they have and making a video as if Cimed had sent it to them. Great! Since it has become an object of desire, people are taking advantage of the buzz that is going on”, he added.
Cimed family as influencers
In addition to the partnership of the moment, the Cimed Family managed to have a different positioning for a pharmaceutical chain: approaching its customers through the life of influencers of family members.
Karla says that people began to enjoy following her personal life through her brother, João Adibe, who has always been Cimed’s spokesperson. “I never made a point of appearing, but in 2021, I came out on Forbes. At that point, a friend came to talk to me about being more active on the networks, saying that it was cool to have a woman in a great position like mine”, explained the executive .
The businesswoman says that she does everything very easily, showing the reality of her day to day, which she believes is the key for people to enjoy following her content. “This is crucial in this market because when you consume a medicine, it is important to trust what you are taking, isn’t it? Today we are the third in manufacturing volume in Brazil and we always say that most Brazilians have a Cimed product at home , even if they don’t know it. There are 500 million boxes that we distribute throughout Brazil per year”, emphasized Karla.
Today, Cimed’s vice-president feels accomplished with her professional and personal achievements. “I’m very happy in the position I occupy today, I’m very happy to have managed to keep my family because sometimes people need to make choices throughout their lives and I’ve never given up on anything. I’ve always made a point of building a nice family, I celebrated 25 years of marriage, I have three wonderful children, a great position at Cimed, which has grown like hell and this year alone we are going to earn BRL 3 billion.”
With so many actions to get closer to the consumer, Karla believes that the process of customer loyalty and trust was natural. Other points highlighted by the VP were the use of the color yellow in communications and internal products, such as sweatshirts, bracelets and jackets that are used by the Cimed team and that can be seen in the posts on the social network.
“At the end of the day, it turned into this cool thing. I always say that, at the end of the day, our goal is to bring a quality product at a price that fits in the pockets of Brazilians, but today I believe that we deliver more than that. We delivers a lifestyle, a desire to make Brazil work. There’s so much involved, you know? I’m very happy with this moment I’m living, being able to contribute to my core and to a general context”, concludes Karla.
Material produced by Adrieny Magalhes and Carolina Vilela
