Otrivin partners with Google's weather prediction tool to reach consumers with real-time, weather-based campaigns

Google's 'Ruled by Weather' prediction tools allows marketers to serve relevant ads to consumers as the weather changes.

It's not unusual to crave a hot cup of tea on a rainy day or ice cream when it's hot outside. For years, human moods have dictated purchase patterns - this is not new. What's new is how marketers are increasingly turning to data-driven solutions to connect weather and consumer interests. Doing so helps a marketer serve more relevant ads to consumers, all based on weather trends and real-time weather data.

This is how Google's weather prediction tool can serve consumers relevant ads
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An article on 'Think with Google' explains what weather-based marketing means for Indian brands. The article also explains what functionality Google's 'Ruled by Weather' prediction tools offers consumers.

This creative draws a parallel between
Bangalore's long traffic jams and blocked noses

Otrivin's Delhi ad references the problem of
air quality

Otrivin's creative for Bengalis in Kolkata

This Mumbai creative draws attention to the
city's traffic problem

"For years, marketers have used search as an indicator of economic trends and patterns. By looking at query volume, marketers are able to make predictions about consumer intent. Using search and historical data combined and forecasts from OpenWeatherMap (an online service that provides weather data), Ruled by Weather offers marketers a way to analyse the relationship between weather and search intent across more than 1000 APAC cities. This allows marketers to serve ads to consumers as the weather changes," the article explains.

The article also discusses what a data-driven approach or weather-based marketing means. It primarily means that brands no longer have to objectively define the effects of weather on sales. With the help of Ruled by Weather, marketers can predict what the weather's impact will be on consumer intent in the immediate three week period. This allows marketers to move beyond seasonality. It gives them a way of knowing when to activate campaigns for specific products - this means that marketers can plan better, thereby allowing them to boost sales and improve brand metrics.

Climate variations and weather patterns also play important roles in affecting a consumer's health. A study conducted by Kantar IMRB on 12,304 respondents aged up to 65 years, found that even though one in three people suffer from a stuffy nose, only one in ten actually treat it. It was based on this insight that GSK's Otrivin decided to collaborate with

Data suggests that environmental factors such as temperature, rain, wind, and clouds trigger searches for cold and flu symptoms. To reach people in their moments of need, GSK Consumer Healthcare has partnered with Google Analytics for a data-led solution. GSK's Otrivin leverages Google's 'Ruled by Weather' predictions, an automated tool that uses the Google Weather Prediction model to reach consumers when a cold/flu could most likely strike. With this data, Otrivin engages with its consumers during peak hours of search intent around cold and flu.

Google has access to weather-related data thanks to an alliance with the Indian weather department, which gives it access to variables such as wind direction, force etc. The predictive model helps GSK reach out to customers with a contextual message and also influences the supply chain with GSK Consumer Healthcare partnering with leading online pharmacies to boost its stock of Otrivin when demand is expected to be high.

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Naveed Ahmed, area marketing director, Otrivin, GSK Consumer Healthcare, said, "Nasal congestion is a common problem due to weather changes, coupled with increasing air pollution. Otrivin's present partnership with Google's Ruled by Weather model is a big step towards 'sharp-shooting' our communication to our consumers in a time of need. The use of analytics is helping design our communication better and driving efficiencies in cost and supply chain management."

This campaign, conceptualised and created by Glitch, has been awarded a Silver in the category of 'Innovative Use of Data & Analytics' at the recent Media Abby Awards (GoaFest) 2019, for its entry - 'Cold and Flu Predictor' campaign. The success of the campaign has enabled the brand to achieve twice the existing engagement and higher sales growth in all campaign active cities.

This is a trend that author Yuval Noah Harari talks about in his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. He talks about the agility of a tech giant like Google in spotting an epidemic before the national health authority in that area has a chance to pick up on the same. To illustrate, he gives the example of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and how they know that a flu epidemic has erupted in London. His example talks about a woman who wakes up with a cold, but doesn't necessarily go to the doctor immediately. When she makes an appointment and goes to the doctor and describes her symptoms, the NHS gains access to that data. He talks about how, hopefully, someone at NHS headquarters analyses this data along with other reports to conclude that cases of flu are on the rise.

This is a time-consuming process and Harari argues that Google could do it in minutes by monitoring the search words that Londoners type in emails and Google search. It can cross-reference them with a database of disease symptoms. "Suppose, on an average day, the words' headache', 'fever', 'nausea', and 'sneezing' appear 100,000 times in London emails and searches. If today the Google algorithm notices they appear 300,000 times, then bingo! We have a flu epidemic," he writes in his book.

He further elaborates that Google doesn't even need to wait until the woman in question goes to a doctor. Before going to work, if she has emailed a colleague - 'I have a headache, but I'll be there.' That's all Google needs. However, for Google to work its magic, the woman must allow Google not only to read her messages but also consent to share the information with health authorities.