Boiron websites place tools, info in mom's hands

Boiron this past fall administered an online makeover across its Oscillo.com site and introduced three additional Internet destinations: ChildrensOscillo.com, Chestal.com and ChildrensChestal.com. The new websites all feature helpful tips for staying healthy and offer Web visitors money-saving coupons.

According to Boiron’s independent research, lack of knowledge regarding homeopathic medicine is the key barrier to usage. After shoppers were given a minimal definition of homeopathic medicines highlighting the benefits, 29% of the category users said they were then interested in trying a homeopathic cough medicine for their children. And because more moms are researching children’s remedies online, establishing resource-rich destination centers seems the smart move.

In addition to creating an interactive online go-to for cough-and-cold information, the homeopathic manufacturer also recently partnered with SDI Health (soon to be part of the IMS Health family) on a cold-and-flu illness tracker. That site, Oscillo.com/flu-tracker, helped tabulate the growing incidence of cold and flu in the middle of last month, even tracking reported symptoms. As of Feb. 18, some of the most prevalent indications were fever (10.8%) and influenza-like symptoms, such as chills, body aches and headache (22.2%).