Brand Champions expands location-based marketing

The analysis applies the location-based marketing approach Brand Champions uses to help organisations tailor activity to the characteristics and behaviours of individual communities.

Brand Champions, the independent, female-led marketing agency, has launched a postcode-based marketing initiative for UK pharmacies, using local demographic, health and search data to identify opportunities for more targeted community engagement.

The tool allows pharmacies to enter their postcode online and receive an analysis of their local market within a fortnight. The assessment covers community demographics, health needs, local search behaviour and the pharmacy's visibility among people seeking relevant health services.

Brand Champions Uses Local Data to Identify Opportunities

The analysis is designed to help pharmacies understand the communities they serve and identify practical ways to improve awareness, relevance and engagement among nearby residents.

The postcode check draws exclusively on publicly available information, including local authority, Census and NHS data, alongside insights into local search behaviour, audience needs and pharmacy visibility.

Pharmacies Face Changing Health Information Habits

The initiative comes as consumers increasingly use digital platforms to access health information. According to a 2025 Semble survey, 34 percent of people aged 16 to 25 reported using ChatGPT for health guidance, while 30 percent used TikTok.

At the same time, community pharmacies are preparing for an expanded role in primary care. From autumn 2026, the Pharmacy First model is expected to enable participating pharmacies to diagnose and treat a wider range of conditions directly. As pharmacies take on more responsibility for local healthcare, increasing public awareness of their services remains an important challenge.

Brand Champions Highlights the Value of Local Insight

Fiona Wylie, Founder and CEO, Brand Champions: "Pharmacies have something incredibly powerful that most brands would spend years trying to build: trust, a physical presence in the heart of their communities and customers living within walking distance. But proximity alone doesn't make you top of mind.

"Every postcode is different. A pharmacy serving young families will have different opportunities from one serving an older population; people will be looking for different services, asking different questions and using different channels to find answers.

"The postcode check is about making that local opportunity visible. We take publicly available information and look at it through a marketing lens to show pharmacies who is around them, what matters to those people, where the pharmacy is – and isn't – showing up, and where there may be an opportunity to act."

Costa Coffee Campaign Demonstrates Hyperlocal Approach

The pharmacy initiative builds on Brand Champions' wider work helping organisations adapt their marketing to local audiences. The agency has worked with Costa Coffee and other high street brands to develop location-specific campaigns based on the characteristics, behaviours and opportunities within individual communities.

In Wimbledon, an activation linked to the local tennis tournament helped Costa Coffee increase footfall by more than 20 percent week on week and net sales by more than a quarter. The results illustrate how location-led marketing can connect brand activity with local events and consumer behaviour.

Brand Champions aims to apply the same approach to community pharmacies, helping them use local data to identify service demand, improve visibility and develop marketing activity that reflects the needs of nearby residents.

www.thebrandchampions.co.uk

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn