Sponsor Pitch · Bayer · Claritin · Vantage-OTC Labs Studio

01Part 1 · the 1-pager · attach to the intro email

The commercial brief Bayer's Consumer Health category team reads first.

One page. Six sections. Designed for the 90-second scan a category director gives to inbound sponsorship proposals before deciding whether to take the discovery call.

02Part 2 · intro email · ready to copy-paste

Short · specific · references Claritin's actual category by name.

Different from the Reckitt email · this one leads with the live demo URL embedded in the body. Bayer reviewers click → land on Cloudflare Access sign-in → 14-day session → see Claritin's category running live before they finish reading the body.

EMAIL · INTRO · COPY READY

⌘ ⇧ C

Subject: Claritin sponsorship · Vantage-OTC Pollen Pulse™ runs live on your category · Q1 2027 activation To: [Bayer Consumer Health · Allergy Category contact] [First name], I run Vantage-OTC Labs · the OTC intelligence platform that already serves 32 European markets and 18 regulatory registers since Q4 2024. This year we shipped Pollen Pulse™ · the first live operating loop of our Consumer Healthcare Growth Intelligence platform. Real DWD German + KNMI Dutch pollen signal · live interpretation · live commercial implications for Claritin / Allegra / antihistamine category · per-market channel context · operational actions. Refreshed every 6 hours. The demo IS your category running. No mockups. No imagination. Open this URL and you're inside the loop for Claritin specifically: [https://vantage-otc.com/demo/claritin-pollen-pulse/] (Cloudflare Access sign-in · I'll add your email to the policy before you click · 14-day session) We're inviting Bayer to be the category-anchor sponsor on this loop for the Q1 2027 European hayfever season. €18k per market per season · DE + NL Phase 1 · Phase 2 expansion 2027/28. The activation window closes mid-August for Q1 2027 timing. Could we book a 30-minute discovery call before 1 July? I'll walk you through the live cascade on a screen-share — 15 minutes is enough to see it work. Bring whoever owns Claritin EU category strategy. Thanks · looking forward. — Harm Jan Schuurman Founder · Vantage-OTC Labs harmjan.schuurman@vantage-otc.com · vantage-otc.com

CRITICAL · DEMO URL READY

Pre-send checklist: confirm the Claritin-branded demo loads behind Access · confirm the recipient's email is added to the Cloudflare Access policy with 14-day session · open the URL yourself in incognito to verify auth flow · then send. The URL working is the entire pitch.

03Part 3 · cold-approach playbook · finding the right Bayer contact

Four ways into the conversation · ordered by effectiveness.

Bayer Consumer Health was spun out of Bayer AG in 2024 · separate P&L · separate leadership · hungrier than the parent. The Claritin team specifically sits inside the Allergy & Cold category unit · Leverkusen-based for HQ · regional Allergy commercial leads in Brussels / Paris / Madrid.

PATH 1 · WARM INTRO

2nd-degree LinkedIn connection

Always tried first. Bayer Consumer Health has more recent ex-employees than typical (the 2024 spin-out created movement). Search for "ex-Bayer Consumer Health" with mutual connections. Best mutual types: ex-AESGP attendees · ex-J&J Consumer · ex-Sanofi CHC · IQVIA Germany.

Intro request to your shared connection · 2 sentences · link to demo URL (Cloudflare Access will gate them before they see content) · ask if they'd forward.

Hit rate: ~50-70% if forwarded. Time: 1-2 weeks to first response.

PATH 2 · COLD LINKEDIN INMAIL

Direct InMail to Claritin EU lead

LinkedIn Premium InMail to the named role. Personalized opener referencing a specific Claritin EU action (MyClaritin app launch · Claritin Cool Mint launch · Claritin Liquid Gels NL expansion · whatever's most recent). Then link to demo URL.

Critical: do not say "intelligence platform" generically. Say "I've built the first live operating intelligence loop for the European antihistamine category and the demo runs on Claritin's specific German & Dutch pollen data right now."

Hit rate: ~20-30% response. Time: 3-7 days to response.

PATH 3 · INDUSTRY EVENT

AESGP / EFA / GfK conferences

Bayer Consumer Health attends AESGP Annual (Brussels) · the European Federation of Allergy & Airways Diseases Patients Associations (EFA) congresses · GfK consumer-health symposia. Claritin team specifically attends EAACI (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology) when it's in EU.

Check upcoming dates before August 2026. In-person handover of demo URL on a printed business card with a QR code is high-conversion.

Hit rate: ~40% conversation · ~60% follow-up call. Time: depends on event timing.

PATH 4 · COLD EMAIL + FOLLOW-UP

3-touch sequence over 2 weeks

Bayer email format is typically firstname.lastname@bayer.com. Validate via Hunter.io or LinkedIn signature inspection.

Cadence: Day 1 (full intro + demo URL). Day 6 (short bump · "did the demo URL work? · happy to add additional reviewers"). Day 14 (final touch · "Q1 2027 activation window closes mid-August · here's our decision tree").

Hit rate: ~15-25% after 3 touches. Time: 2-3 weeks.

Target roles · who at Bayer Consumer Health to find

Bayer Consumer Health (the spun-out entity) is the right team · not Bayer Pharma · not Bayer Crop Science. Within Consumer Health, the Allergy / Cold & Sinus category is where Claritin lives. Search filters: company "Bayer Consumer Health" OR "Bayer AG" · function "Marketing" / "Brand" / "Category".

ROLE

WHY THEM

PRIORITY

Global Category Lead · Allergy · Bayer Consumer Health

Highest leverage. Owns Claritin global strategy. EU activation needs their nod. Likely Leverkusen-based.

"Bayer Consumer Health" "Allergy" "Global Category"

P1 · primary

VP / Senior Director · Claritin EU Marketing

Regional commercial lead. May have signing autonomy for EU master pilots. Brussels or Paris-based.

"Bayer" "Claritin" "Director" "Europe"

P1 · alt

Head of Consumer Insights · Allergy / Cold & Sinus

Owns the data/intelligence stack. Most likely to understand Vantage-OTC Labs' value immediately. May champion internally.

"Bayer Consumer Health" "Insights" "Allergy"

P2 · champion

Senior Brand Manager · Claritin DE

DE-specific anchor. DWD data is German · DE Brand Manager has natural curiosity. Leverkusen or Berlin-based.

"Bayer" "Claritin" "Brand Manager" "Germany"

P2 · DE-specific

Digital / Innovation Lead · Bayer Consumer Health

Non-traditional path. Innovation budget owners are often more responsive to platform conversations than category teams. Worth a parallel touch.

"Bayer Consumer Health" "Innovation" "Digital"

P2 · parallel

Procurement · External Services

Last-resort path. Bayer procurement is rigorous · reaching here first usually means delays. Bypass if possible.

"Bayer" "Procurement" "Marketing Services"

P3 · avoid first

Office locations · Bayer Consumer Health HQ Leverkusen (DE) · Bayer Consumer Health EU regional Brussels (BE) · Bayer Consumer Health France Lyon · Bayer Consumer Health Nordics Stockholm. Filter LinkedIn by location to find Claritin DE versus Claritin EU leads.

04Decision tree · from intro to signed LOI in 12 weeks

Bayer's natural decision cycle is 6-9 months · we work backwards from Q1 2027 activation.

STEP

GATE

WK 0 · 13 Jun

Stage 02 · Open. Intro email sent · demo URL embedded · Cloudflare Access policy pre-loaded with target reviewer email. Target: first click on demo URL within 5 business days.

Demo URL clicked

WK 1-2

Stage 03 · Discover. 30-min discovery call. Live screen-share walkthrough of Pollen Pulse™ DE + NL · Claritin-branded variant · 15-min cascade tour · 5-min commercial terms · 10-min questions.

Continue

WK 3-5

Stage 04 · Diagnose. 2nd call · Bayer brings Claritin brand team + insights lead. Discuss specific Q1 2027 activation scenarios · co-branding mockups · regional rollout sequence (DE first vs simultaneous DE+NL).

Continue

WK 6-7

Stage 05 · Propose. Formal proposal · €54k year-1 floor · €36k DE+NL × season + €18k extras + Phase 2 ROFR · activation timeline · co-branding terms · embed deployment plan.

Critical gate

WK 8-11

Stage 06 · Negotiate. Contract redlines · per-market exclusivity language · MSA terms · legal review · DPA. Possible scope expansion to Aspirin (cardiovascular signals · Phase 2 module).

Continue

WK 12 · 13 Aug

Stage 07 · Sign. LOI signed by 13 August latest. Final contract within 4 weeks. Q1 2027 activation locked.

LOI · GO

Aug-Jan

Stage 08 · Build & Activate. Brand-asset exchange · Claritin embed variant production-ready · co-branded widget reviewed by Bayer brand teams · QA · pilot activation in Jan 2027 · full launch 1 Feb 2027 · 4 weeks ahead of tree-pollen ramp.

Activation ready

WHY BAYER IS PITCH #1 · NOT #2

Bayer's decision cycle is longer than Reckitt's · starting first respects their pace · still hits Aug 13 LOI gate. A signed Bayer LOI by August is the strongest possible social proof for the Reckitt + Haleon + P&G conversations that follow. "Bayer Consumer Health just committed to this platform" is the highest-leverage opener in the rest of the program. Sequence matters for credibility compounding.

Bayer · Claritin.The demo IS your category.

The commercial brief Bayer's Consumer Health category team reads first.

Category-anchor sponsorship · Vantage-OTC Labs Pollen Pulse™ · Claritin · Q1 2027 activation

The first live operating loop of the Consumer Healthcare Growth Intelligence platform.

The demo is Claritin's actual category.

Live · running · refreshed every 6 hours · ready to demo.

Category-anchor terms · DE + NL · Q1 2027 hayfever activation.

A 30-minute discovery call before 1 July.

Phase 1 makes Pollen Pulse™ believable. Phase 2 extends the same cascade across categories.

Short · specific · references Claritin's actual category by name.

Four ways into the conversation · ordered by effectiveness.

2nd-degree LinkedIn connection

Direct InMail to Claritin EU lead

AESGP / EFA / GfK conferences

3-touch sequence over 2 weeks

Target roles · who at Bayer Consumer Health to find

Bayer's natural decision cycle is 6-9 months · we work backwards from Q1 2027 activation.

Bayer · Claritin.
The demo IS your category.