Dr. Scholl's Puts Shoe Insole Right Into Women's Hands

Let's face it, a brand catering to women's feet may seem, well, a little pedestrian. But the 104-year old Dr. Scholl's brand has figured out a way to put some pizzazz in a campaign for "Dr. Scholl's for Her Open Shoe" insoles: Put a real insole right into women's hands.

Three million right shoe insoles made of a thin gel material will be inserted into issues of magazines targeting women in an effort to convince them that walking with an insole (right foot) is more comfortable than walking without one (left foot).

Last year, Dr. Scholl's tested the idea by inserting insoles into the June 2009 issue of Glamour magazine. Research conducted by the magazine indicated that 58 percent of subscribers said they would consider buying a pair and 11 percent made a purchase. About 37 percent tested the insole in a shoe. Marketing VP T. J. Higgins told The New York Times, "For us that response rate was outstanding. One of our goals is to build awareness of this brand and this segment and to get women to think about Dr. Scholl's and feel the fit, comfort and shock attenuation."

The successful test led Dr. Scholl's to up the ante. Now subscribers to In Style and All You (May issues) and Shape (June issue) will get their very own right insoles. In a nod to social media, the brand will reserve a few hundred thousand insoles to offer via its Facebook page to subscribers who may find the insole missing from their copy of the magazine.

Dr. Scholl's, owned by Schering-Plough, is a market leader in the foot care device segment. "Dr. Scholl's for Her" is about a $39 million business. And in case you were wondering, there really was a Dr. Scholl. The company was founded in 1906 by Dr. William Mathias Scholl, a shoe store employee who ended up attending medical school so he could learn about the structure of the foot. Apparently, the man had sole.