To set the record straight on age-old myths concerning hernias, BBK Communications launched a direct-to-consumer (DTC) campaign that promotes a tension-free hernia repair procedure using the "Cannonball Man."
The month-long national campaign in June promoted the hernia repair procedure offered by Davol Inc., a subsidiary of C.R. Bard Inc., a medical equipment manufacturer in Murry Hill, N.J., and resulted in 200-250 calls daily to its toll-free consumer line during the promotion. The callers received information about the hernia procedure and area physicians who perform it.
The campaign, budgeted at $250,000, kicked off "National Hernia Month" (June) with ads in special editions of Time and Newsweek that reached the 50-plus age demo and will involve a direct mail effort to 10,000 to 12,000 physicians in September. The direct mail component will target physicians attending the American College of Surgeons conference this fall, educating them on how the DTC campaign will drive traffic to their offices.
The "Cannonball Man" used in the advertisement conveyed a hyperbolic reference to traditional painful hernia repair procedures that "feel like a cannonball being shot into your stomach," says Ron Greene, Davol's VP of marketing.
The reference also was timely - "Seinfeld " alluded to the Cannonball Man in an episode that aired during the campaign and the music group Van Halen released a song of the same name last spring.
The advertising copy also dispels myths about hernias being caused by lifting heavy objects and about the condition only affecting men.
Launching the DTC campaign has "great potential" for Davol, according to Parke Fisler, BBK's director of creative strategies, because nearly four million Americans have undiagnosed hernias.
And although a minority of Davol's physician target doesn't agree with its DTC approach, Greene says he bluntly defends the marketing decision. "I tell physicians you're either on Davol's bus or you're under it because companies like Davol help market their practices."
For instance, the DTC campaign is driving traffic to Davol's database of physicians via the toll-free hotline and Web site (http://www.herniainfo.com) promoted on the ad.(BBK Communications, Parke Fisler, 617/630-4477, ext. 244; Davol, Ron Greene, 401/463-7000, ext. 2239)
BBK Communications
Founded: 1983
Headquarters: Newton, Mass.
Billings (1997): $18.2 million
Employees: 40
Other Clients: BBI Medical Systems; DuPont Pharma Radiopharmaceuticals; Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Web Site: http://www.bbkweb.com