Erik Mashkilleyson

Work / Case study

Verman

Everyday words for pharmacy brands.

We gave three pharmacy brands a consumer insight, a line of their own and a campaign world to grow into.

Brand strategy · Advertising concepts · Campaign planning · 2020–2025

Client
Verman
Project
Product brand strategy and advertising concepts: RELA, Deslox, Bethover
Year
2020–2025
Sector
Pharmacy products
My role
Brand strategy and advertising concepts
Themes
Behaviour, Trust, Growth
Sheet
33
Fig. 01
A man in an office corridor holding papers, his head hidden by a white cloud.
Bethover. The cloud makes an abstract problem visible and instantly recognisable.

At Avidly, I worked across several Verman consumer brands, combining consumer insight, positioning, brand messaging, verbal concepts and integrated campaign planning.

Verman is a Finnish family-owned maker of pharmacy products. The work covered three brands: RELA, Deslox and Bethover.

01 RELA · Advertising concept, 2021

Syö. RELAA. Nuku.

RELA is one of Finland's best-known probiotic brands. The work ran in two stages: first an advertising concept, then a brand strategy that strengthened RELA's own verbal territory and tied it to everyday wellbeing, peace of mind and caring for yourself and your family.

The concept connects gut wellness with the things everyday wellbeing is really built on. In a busy, performance-driven life, it reminds people that the only mandatory things in a day are to eat, relax and sleep. And to have a RELA while you are at it.

The brand name works naturally as a verb. Relaaminen, the Finnish idea of taking it easy, gave the campaign a warm, everyday and ownable vocabulary, and the support line “Joka päivä. Se riittää.” (Every day. That's enough.) carried the same forgiving attitude. The structure flexes across product variants and moments: Eat. RELAX. Travel. Chill. Live.

Fig. 02
A couple lying in a field of flowers with a child, beside the line Syö. RELAA. Nuku. and a RELA pack.
Syö. RELAA. Nuku. The core line as a poster. This image was the favourite in consumer testing.

02 RELA · Brand strategy, 2023

A calm stomach brings peace of mind

The brand strategy turned the same thinking into a lasting foundation. The consumer insight, brand promise and message core gave RELA a warm, calm and approachable role in people's everyday lives.

Insight: A calm stomach brings peace of mind. (Vatsan rauha on mielenrauhaa.)
Brand promise: RELA helps you relax. (RELA auttaa relaamaan.)
Message core: RELAX. Every day. That's enough. (RELAA. Joka päivä. Se riittää.)

Fig. 03
A father pushing two laughing children in a wooden cart, beside the line Syö. RELAA. Elä. and a RELA pack.
Syö. RELAA. Elä. (Eat. RELAX. Live.) The family version. The same visuals extended to posters, 15-second animations for social and TV, and radio.

03 Deslox · Launch concept, 2021

Under a minute at the pharmacy shelf

Deslox entered a highly competitive category of over-the-counter allergy medicines. The task was to build awareness fast and give consumers a clear reason to notice and choose the brand. The goal was 10% unaided awareness.

People pick an antihistamine from the pharmacy shelf in under a minute. They reach for the brand they always buy, the one the pharmacist recommends, or the one that catches their eye first. The choice is often made before they walk in. Deslox needed a simple, compelling reason to consider switching.

We developed three territories around the key product attributes: efficacy, non-drowsiness and 24-hour relief. The chosen route turned allergy symptoms into an overwhelming force of nature.

04 Deslox · Kesytä luontosi

Tame your nature.

Allergy is part of human nature. When symptoms hit, you feel small and powerless. “Kesytä luontosi.” promises effective relief anywhere, any time, and its double meaning covers both nature outside and your own nature. The line gave Deslox a strong voice of its own in the category and spoke directly to efficacy.

The media mix combined radio, outdoor media near pharmacies, display, search, weather environments and pharmacy materials. Spend followed the pollen seasons, with a strong start in spring and a reminder burst in July.

Fig. 04
Two whales and a diver in deep blue water, with the line Kesytä luontosi and the Deslox logo.
Kesytä luontosi. The visual world exaggerates nature and how small we feel in front of it. Concept-stage visual.

05 Bethover · Challenge

Brain wellness without overclaiming

For Bethover, we moved the B12 vitamin brand's message from memory towards broader brain wellness and cognitive function. The concept had to speak to current users aged 55-70 and to a growth audience aged 40-55.

Brain wellness is hard to position responsibly. We could not promise anyone a better memory, and B12 is no cure for dementia. The message had to speak about clear thinking in a way everyone recognises.

06 Bethover · Insight

Suuntaa ulos sumusta.

After Covid, brain fog was a phenomenon everyone knew. In focus groups it proved relatable, informative and distinctive. Having your head in the clouds is an everyday way of saying you are not at your sharpest. That gave the problem a physical form: a soft, fluffy cloud in front of a person's face, clearing as clarity and energy return.

Find your way out of the fog. The Fog Walker concept, 2024. Slogan: Because you think with your brain. (Koska ajattelet aivoillasi.)

Fig. 05
A woman in an office kitchen covered in sticky notes, her face hidden by a white cloud.
TV film. A cloud hides the face until a foghorn plays the Bethover jingle and breaks the moment. The office scene runs at 0:10-0:14.

07 Bethover · Launch

One cloud across every channel

The integrated concept ran across TV, print, radio, digital and pharmacies. It strengthened Bethover's position as a trusted brain wellness brand and supported its market-leading position.

In 2025, the Muisti Plus launch continued the Fog Walker story with the message “Muistin suojaksi” (to protect your memory).

Fig. 06
A pharmacy display with cotton cloud mobiles hanging above a Bethover stand.
In-pharmacy activation with cotton cloud mobiles and cloud-shaped elements.

Selected artefacts

Fig. 07
A woman with a backpack on a mountain trail, beside the line Syö. RELAA. Reissaa. and a RELA pack.
Syö. RELAA. Reissaa. (Eat. RELAX. Travel.) The travel version links immunity to time away from home.
Fig. 08
A woman in sunglasses licking an ice cream cone, beside the line Syö. RELAA. Chillaa. and a RELA pack.
Syö. RELAA. Chillaa. (Eat. RELAX. Chill.) A relaxed attitude to gut health and to food.
Fig. 09
A child hugging a large bear in a dark forest, with the line Kesytä luontosi and the Deslox logo.
Nature stands for the symptoms, and Deslox helps tame them. The images leave room for humour.
Fig. 10
A Deslox 2.5 mg pack.
Pharmacy materials were built on the packaging design.
Fig. 11
A hiker mid-stride over a mountain stream, with the line Ja eikun menoks! and the Deslox logo.
Ja eikun menoks! (Off you go!) An alternative route built on attitude and an active life without drowsiness.
Fig. 12
A glowing digital butterfly in a blue tunnel of light, with the line Aikaansa edellä and the Deslox logo.
Aikaansa edellä. (Ahead of its time.) The third route framed Deslox as a new-generation antihistamine.
Fig. 13
A man with a cloud for a head in an office, Bethover B12 jars in front and the line Aivojesi hyvinvointiin.
Aivojesi hyvinvointiin. (For your brain wellness.) The end frame places the product range in the same foggy world.
Fig. 14
Poster draft: a woman in a purple shirt with a cloud for a head, the line Suuntaa ulos sumusta and Bethover jars.
Poster draft for focus group research.
Fig. 15
Poster draft: a man in a purple rain jacket by a lake with a cloud for a head and Bethover jars.
Scenes were chosen so both audiences could see themselves in them.
Fig. 16
Final poster: a man with a cloud for a head holding papers, the line Suuntaa ulos sumusta and Bethover jars.
Final poster in the film's visual world.
Fig. 17
A white and purple Bethover counter display reading Suuntaa ulos sumusta.
The counter display carries the same cloud motif.
Fig. 18
Purple poster with clouds and Bethover B12 Muisti Plus jars, asking Kuumottaako huono muisti?
2025: Muisti Plus. The new product launch continued the Fog Walker story with the message “Muistin suojaksi” (to protect your memory).
01What we created
  • Brand strategy
  • Consumer insight
  • Positioning
  • Advertising concepts
  • Integrated campaign planning
02My role

I worked on brand strategy, consumer insight, positioning, advertising concepts and integrated campaign planning for Verman's consumer brands at Avidly.

03Impact
  • Bethover: the campaign strengthened Bethover's position as a trusted brain wellness brand and supported its market-leading position.
04Brands
  • RELA: advertising concept 2021, brand strategy 2023.
  • Deslox: launch concept and media mix, 2021.
  • Bethover: advertising concept, TV, POS and launch, 2024–2025.
See also