Success Story
Message Centre Gives Walgreens' COVID-19 Vaccine Program A Booster
Walgreens needed a system to notify Americans about COVID-19 vaccine availability. They wanted to inform millions of people across thousands of locations without delays. The system had to send messages fast, helping people book vaccinations promptly.
Industry
Healthcare
Date delivered
April 2021
Length of project
6 weeks
Solution provided
Adobe Campaign solution architecture and management
Technology
Adobe Campaign Message Centre
The Project
Walgreens, a top US healthcare provider, aimed to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations at scale to support public health. They needed a fast, efficient system to notify millions of Americans about vaccine availability. With complex messaging needs and tight deadlines, Walgreens partnered with Tap CXM to connect their booking and communication systems, using Message Centre (an Adobe Campaign module) for seamless mass notification.
The Challenge
Walgreens faced multiple CXM challenges while rolling out its vaccination program:
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- Insufficient infrastructure: Walgreens’ existing messaging systems weren’t set up for time-critical mass notifications.
- Time sensitivity: Any delays in the notification system would mean people missed the opportunity to book critical COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Integration issues: Existing messaging platforms and booking systems weren’t connected, causing headaches for end users.
- High-volume messaging requirements: The solution needed to scale up to 1M+ messages per hour at its peak without losing stability.
The Solution
This was a multi-party project. Walgreens and Adobe worked on the booking system infrastructure. Tap CXM handled the solution architecture and project management for Adobe Campaign Message Center. And a third party built the messaging content. Our remit was to ensure the systems talked to each other using the same language at the same time (and at scale, without delays). From our side, a unique blend of solutions architecture expertise, technical knowledge, and business acumen were needed to keep the project on track with a very short deadline.
The ultimate solution shifted Walgreens’ Adobe Campaign infrastructure from a marketing focus more towards a transactional tool. It enabled real-time, trigger-based messaging to update customers on vaccine availability. Those are two completely different types of messaging—and we couldn’t ignore compliance.
We were tunnelling from two sides and had to make sure the systems talked to each other in the same language at the same time.
Andrew Haines, Founder & CEO, Tap CXM
The Results
The solution delivered several significant outcomes for Walgreens:
- Scalability achieved: Message Centre handled peak loads of 1M+ messages per hour, ensuring people were notified quickly when vaccine appointments became available.
- Public health benefit: Walgreens administered 56M+ COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, far surpassing their earlier projections.
- No delivery delays: After a 6-week collaborative effort, the notification system was operational and stable
- Smooth booking experience: The seamless, integrated platform improved the customer experience, resulting in increased satisfaction and engagement.
This was a rare case where we handed over our part of the project and stepped back. Looking back now, it’s heartening to see that Tap’s Adobe Campaign Message Centre expertise played a small role—but not insignificant—in one of the largest public health initiatives in recent years.
