How it started

Haleon, the world leader in consumer health, feels there is momentum in the business to speak directly to consumers and experts more frequently. In fact, the Oral Health R&D scientists/innovation teams wanted to get closer to consumers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) to build a strong human understanding and help drive consumer-centric innovation.

How we inspired change

We proposed a Connects Program to Haleon, directly connecting internal R&D and innovation stakeholders with consumers and HCPs.

• Prepare and train: all teams submitted relevant topics for the Connect sessions, four of which were chosen to take forward. Next, we developed a research guide and briefed and trained the Haleon employees to make them feel comfortable during the Connect sessions.
• Connect sessions: in 2023, we organised connects with consumers and healthcare experts from multiple markets (the US, Italy and the UK) over the course of 15 weeks. The Haleon team was in full control during these sessions, with Human8 present to introduce employees to participants, and act as back room support to step in if necessary.
• Reflection, sharing learnings & making use of them: during a closing reflection session, Haleon stakeholders shared learnings and “A-ha” moments. This was followed up with a workshop to help the team use these insights to drive innovation.

How it lives on

Our Connects Program allowed for teams to build empathy, capture consumer and expert stories, and provide insight springboards for future ideations. Following the successful rollout in 2023, the team builds on this momentum into 2024, evolving and deepening consumer and expert connections through a range of methodologies – such as in-depth interviews, Vox pop, online ethno tasks, in-person workshops – and extending to other teams at Haleon beyond oral health.

The project was nominated for an internal award at Haleon and presented by the Haleon team as a case study at the EuroSense 2022 Conference.