The brand Allegra has developed its mobile mapping app, Allegra Airways, to integrate air-quality data, with the goal of helping its users to identify and avoid areas with poor air quality, which can adversely affect their health.
As part of its Spring campaign, Allegra teamed up with Dr. Kara Wada, a quadruple board-certified pediatric and adult allergy, immunology & lifestyle medicine physician, leveraging her expertise to help individuals effectively manage their allergies, including navigating them with Allegra Airways. Additionally, Allegra is collaborating with boy band legend, Lance Bass, who, as an allergy sufferer, outdoor enthusiast, and parent, is raising awareness of worsening allergy symptoms and the assistance provided by Allegra and Allegra Airways.
Followers can catch Lance on Allegra’s Instagram page where he showcases his “almost-Allegra purple” hair and features in a video demonstrating his use of Allegra Airways during his daily routine.
Jordana Barish, Senior Director of the Allergy Portfolio at Sanofi, explained that the decision to launch the brand’s app at SXSW was driven by Austin, TX’s reputation for experiencing severe allergy seasons throughout the year. Ensuring that Allegra Airways effectively reached its target audience in Austin and positively impacted the local community was a key priority, and the feedback received was overwhelmingly positive.
“We know there is increasing dialogue around the impacts of climate change, including lengthening of pollen seasons and worsening air quality – which we all saw last year in our air from the Canada wildfires,” said Barish. “We also realized we had access to data through our partner Ambee, a climate and environmental data intelligence company, that calculates the cleanest routes based on real-time pollen concentrations and air pollutants with an accuracy of 5 meters.”
At this year’s SXSW, Allegra featured purple Allegra-branded pedicabs equipped with Allegra Airways technology, facilitating transportation for attendees around downtown Austin while assisting them in identifying the cleanest routes. Allegra sent out digital trucks that had QR codes to make it easy for everyone to access and use Allegra Airways.
According to Future Market Insights’ industry report, the global seasonal allergies market sales reached US$ 1.15 billion in 2022, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8%. By 2033, analysts projected the market to reach an estimated worth of US$ 2.58 billion. Global climate change has led to more people experiencing pollen-induced allergy disorders. Additionally, pollen patterns shifted in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and America, resulting in seasonal and regional variations. The increasing populations of allergenic plants posed a threat to allergic children, contributing to increased pollen sensitivity rates among them.
As Barish pointed out, many people are unaware of the link between allergy symptoms and air quality, which is why the brand seeks to raise awareness of it. Approximately half of the population will experience some form of allergy by 2050. Accordingly, Allegra wants to lead this conversation through social media and connected television with an educational approach, similar to what Wisp has done.
“We want to give everyone the tools to help themselves and we hope Allegra Airways continues to be a testament to this mission, helping people across the country breathe easy,” said Barish.
