Refreshing a Household Brand for the Next Era of Consumer Health
ACON Labs, manufacturer of the Flowflex and Flowflex Plus COVID-19 and flu test kits, engaged BrandStar Digital during a period of declining demand, since the pandemic has declined. Their mission was to rebuild consumer trust, strengthen retail relationships, and position Flowflex as a reliable seasonal health essential, and distance it from COVID-specific uses.
The Challenge
As the urgency of the pandemic waned, sales of tests fell sharply which led to ACON losing some key retail partners. Competitors capitalized on flu-season overlaps, pushing multi-purpose products while consumer skepticism about COVID testing grew. The brand lacked clear differentiation, digital optimization, and a cohesive funnel from awareness to purchase. Retail data was fragmented, social engagement was minimal, and creative content failed to meet modern storytelling expectations.
Declining demand post-pandemic led to falling sales, lost retail partners, and increased competitive pressure from multi-purpose flu-season products
Lack of clear differentiation, digital optimization, and a cohesive funnel from awareness to purchase
Fragmented retail data, minimal social engagement, and outdated creative that failed to meet modern storytelling expectations
The Solution
To reignite demand, ACON needed to re-establish credibility and spread awareness in an increasingly skeptical market.
BrandStar Digital created a campaign aimed to drive qualified traffic to Flowflex landing pages where users could engage with the store locator to find nearby retailers carrying Flowflex products or click through to retail partners’ websites. The focus remained on high-intent users actively seeking reliable at-home testing solutions.
Trust & Awareness
Produced a Dr. Drew-anchored video series and commercials to improve credibility and emphasize the importance of preparedness.
Omnichannel Presence
Combined Meta, Google, and Programmatic channels to maximize reach across awareness, consideration, and conversion stages.
Traffic Quality Focus
Optimized toward engaged sessions and store locator interactions rather than low-cost clicks, ensuring that traffic contributed to measurable retail intent.
Continuous Optimization
A/B-tested creative solutions, refined messaging from “COVID” to broader seasonal health and developed proof points to reassure retailers of ACON’s demand generation.
The Results
By unifying creative storytelling with precision media strategy, the FlowFlex campaign achieved significant performance gains across awareness, engagement, and conversion. Each metric reflects meaningful progress toward restoring retailer confidence and brand momentum.
32% Decrease
in CPC
Average cost-per-click dropped from $1.63 in June to $1.10 in September, significantly improving media efficiency.
7.5× Increase in Clicks
Click volume scaled from 25K in June to over 193K in September, dramatically expanding reach and engagement.
Over 110K
Events
Lower-funnel actions, including store locator clicks and related engagements, grew from 8.4K to more than 110K by September.
Stronger Engagement Efficiency
Despite broader reach, creative refreshes and audience refinements delivered more relevant impressions, driving sustained CTR growth throughout the campaign.
Performance Optimization Impact
Strategic improvements to location targeting, keyword structure, and creative sequencing directly contributed to lower CPCs, higher CTRs, and stronger conversion performance.
Improved efficiency, higher engagement, and stronger lower-funnel actions helped restore retail confidence and position the brand for sustained performance growth.
