Design Thinking – Solving problem via Learning Launch

Challenge – I have often used learning launch as a tool which allows me to fail early and

evolve with the changes proposed in the failed plan to test the updated plan as soon as possible.

Early fails have often helped me build bigger and better ideas and opportunities. I was involved

in a live project for one of the leading pharmaceutical companies of the country involved in

increasing their market base in the OTC medicine segment. They faced a problem of making a

customer understand regarding the importance of prescription for prescription drugs as

research had found out that 30% of the customer footfall does not buy any medicine due to lack

of prescription. Lack of customer engagement in terms of educating the customer combined

with manpower required to spread consumer awareness added to the issues of declining OTC

profit margins and rising overhead costs.

Selection – Learning Launch is being used here to implement a pilot demonstration program

for the customers and to realize on the possible drawbacks of the program to be worked on.

Other ideas have been studied and evaluated under design thinking after arriving at this idea to

try the learning launch tool.

Application – In order to capitalize on the larger population and to include all segments of the

population, the pilot is executed on 5 different locations of OTC market at the same time with

different demographics of population. A survey is floated to these customers in the form of a

questionnaire with a small reward amount for motivation to take the questionnaire. All the

questions revolve around the importance of prescription and are objective type of questions in

order to improve the response rate of the participating audience. This survey is followed by a

short video shoot where the participants are asked to describe in two lines how they feel about

the importance of prescription while buying prescription drugs. The survey data is then

analyzed against the responses received and the video is completed for social media marketing

to spread awareness with the actual footage of the survey conducted and people’s reaction to

the importance of prescription.

Insight – By applying the learning launch tool, we are able to identify the possible factors for

lack of people’s participation in getting prescription before buying the drugs and the common

drugs where they skip going to a doctor altogether. It is also analyzed if repeat buying is one

of the causes for the people to skip the prescription along with understanding money as a factor

affecting the same. The customer response is also studied in terms of varying response rate,

framing of questions, type of questions making the customer uncomfortable and the time taken

by an average customer to fill the questionnaire. The results obtained are in line with the

anticipated outcomes in terms of customer engagement in the questionnaire such as the number

of questions to be placed, sequence of the questions put to churn out maximum response rate

along with a decrease in the reward amount as the decreased amount is generating similar

motivation and response rate as the higher amount. Majority of people are in awe to understand

the importance of prescription after consequences are shown to them in the form of drug

addiction, illegal usage of drugs, etc.

Approach – We are well versed with all the four design thinking techniques and we favor

learning launch to be the best option in order to fail fast and improve the current pilot to

maximize user participation in combination with increasing the prescription awareness. This

in combination with the people testimonies of the consumers taking the survey would act as a

good marketing campaign to spread awareness about the prescription importance.


Design Thinking – Solving problem via Learning Launch Challenge – I have often used learning launch as a tool which allows me to fail early and evolve with the changes proposed in the failed plan to test the updated plan as soon as possible . Early fails have often helped me build bigger and better ideas and opportunities . I was involved in a live project for one of the leading pharmaceutical companies of the country involved in increasing their market base in the OTC medicine segment . They faced a problem of making a customer understand regarding the importance of prescription for prescription drugs as research had found out that 30 % of the customer footfall does not buy any medicine due to lack of prescription . Lack of customer engagement in terms of educating the customer combined with manpower required to spread consumer awareness added to the issues of declining OTC profit margins and rising overhead costs . Selection – Learning Launch is being used here to implement a pilot demonstration program for the customers and to realize on the possible drawbacks of the program to be worked on . Other ideas have been studied and evaluated under design thinking after arriving at this idea to try the learning launch tool . Application – In order to capitalize on the larger population and to include all segments of the population , the pilot is executed on 5 different locations of OTC market at the same time with different demographics of population . A survey is floated to these customers in the form of a questionnaire with a small reward amount for motivation to take the questionnaire . All the questions revolve around the importance of prescription and are objective type of questions in order to improve the response rate of the participating audience . This survey is followed by a short video shoot where the participants are asked to describe in two lines how they feel about the importance of prescription while buying prescription drugs . The survey data is then analyzed against the responses received and the video is completed for social media marketing to spread awareness with the actual footage of the survey conducted and people ’s reaction to the importance of prescription . Insight – By applying the learning launch tool , we are able to identify the possible factors for lack of people ’s participation in getting prescription before buying the drugs and the common drugs where they skip going to a doctor altogether . It is also analyzed if repeat buying is one of the causes for the people to skip the prescription along with understanding money as a factor affecting the same . The customer response is also studied in terms of varying response rate , framing of questions , type of questions making the customer uncomfortable and the time taken by an average customer to fill the questionnaire . The results obtained are in line with the anticipated outcomes in terms of customer engagement in the questionnaire such as the number of questions to be placed , sequence of the questions put to churn out maximum response rate along with a decrease in the reward amount as the decreased amount is generating similar motivation and response rate as the higher amount . Majority of people are in awe to understand the importance of prescription after consequences are shown to them in the form of drug addiction , illegal usage of drugs , etc . Approach – We are well versed with all the four design thinking techniques and we favor learning launch to be the best option in order to fail fast and improve the current pilot to maximize user participation in combination with increasing the prescription awareness . This in combination with the people testimonies of the consumers taking the survey would act as a good marketing campaign to spread awareness about the prescription importance .