Who said cold sore cream can’t be sexy?

Calgary-based Taiga Bioactives is taking a cue from the beauty category and completely overhauling its cold sore cream brand. Its formula was previously called Korner’s, and blended right in among its mundane medicinal counterparts. Now, with help from Cincinnati, OH.-based agency Eisen Management Group (EMG), it’s relaunching as Dr. Krane’s KoolLips, and looks like it would be more at home in the cosmetics section than the medicine aisle.

‘What most cold sore treatments completely ignore is the fact that people feel ugly when they have a cold sore,’ says Rodger Roeser, EMG’s president. ‘We tried to bring more sophistication and sex appeal to the brand. We want to get people back to looking good quickly.’

Since 70% of Canadian cold sore sufferers are female, KoolLips opted to target women first. EMG developed a profile to represent the ideal target: her name is Laura, she’s 34, married with no kids and works at a Calgary ad firm. Looking good is important to her; she doesn’t want any unsightly cold sores during presentations or social events.

The new packaging boasts a sleek black, purple and gold look, and has two variations: a small matchbook-like shell as well as a version that looks like a mini-purse. Both are just hitting the shelves now at pharmacies across Canada, as the old Korner’s packaging transitions out.

The marketing strategy to support the rebranding effort is two-fold: first, a PR blitz to educate people about cold sore treatment in general; then a mass campaign including print ads in fashion and beauty mags like Flare, Lou Lou and Glow later this year.

KoolLips will roll out a male-centric package later, with packaging that’s more ‘tool box’ than purse. Taiga is a bioscience company that produces naturally derived personal care, over-the-counter and prescription remedies.