Cervical cancer is the second most lethal form of cancer in females worldwide -- only breast cancer kills more women. The disease is highly treatable if caught early, but it
kills approximately 5,000 American women and causes about 50,000 hysterectomies each year.
Annual Pap smears are credited with reducing cervical cancer by more than 70%. However, the 50-year-old test has a false negative rate between 20% and 40%. ThinPrep,
manufactured by Cytyc Corp., bests the traditional Pap smear by improving specimen quality and preserving significantly more of the cervical cells removed from patients. The test
also eliminates "debris" removed along with the cells, making abnormal cells considerably easier for lab technicians to identify. A study conducted by ACTA Cytologica, the
official journal of the American Society of Cytopathology, discovered that the ThinPrep test increased detection of high-grade cervical lesions by 55%.
"In medical device PR, the biggest news event is FDA approval," says VP Shanti Skiffington, Schwartz Communications, Waltham, Mass. Yet even though Cytyc received FDA approval
in 1996, this medical breakthrough got very little attention for the company. By 1998, few women knew of the improved test and only a handful of doctors were offering it;
insurance companies were reimbursing sporadically.
Making the Most of Consumer Health
Cytyc retained Schwartz Communications to drive patient demand, physician adoption and insurance reimbursement through a wide-ranging media relations campaign. The ultimate
goal was to get women to walk into their doctor's office with an article describing the benefits of the ThinPrep test. Adding to the challenge were wary reporters who questioned
the product because it hadn't garnered media attention upon FDA approval. Plus, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had issued an opinion on the new, more
expensive technology, which myopically stated, "new doesn't necessarily mean better."
"We realized immediately it was a real women's health issue," Skiffington says. "We needed to put a face to the story." The Schwartz team did some research and uncovered a
cyto technologist (a lab worker who reads Pap smears) who had received training in the ThinPrep method around the time she personally received abnormal Pap smear results. She
returned to her gynecologist with a ThinPrep vial and asked the doctor to test her again using the ThinPrep method, which uncovered late stage cervical cancer that may otherwise
have been missed. The technologist underwent a hysterectomy and beat her cancer.
Schwartz took the story to the Associated Press as an exclusive and began aggressively targeting local newspapers and women's magazines, "the pubs your average everyday woman
trusts," Skiffington says. Using stories like the lab technologist's along with studies from doctors around the country that proved the effectiveness of the test, the media
relations team garnered coverage from a variety of women's magazine health editors who routinely cover the annual trip to the gynecologist and Pap smears.
Local newspaper editors were a harder sell since they often didn't cover national consumer interest news without a local hook. Schwartz worked with the Cytyc sales reps to
identify physician practices and labs that had adopted the ThinPrep method. As each new user came on board, the agency created customized press materials for the doctor's
practice or the lab to distribute to local media. The team also assembled physicians for media events and identified local spokespeople for the test.
Results
As of early 2001, the ThinPrep test had begun to emerge as a new standard among gynecologists. ThinPrep tests currently represent 36% of all Pap tests done in the U.S., more
than twice the percentage of tests in 1999. Approximately 80% of OB-GYNs are offering the test to their patients, and the nation's top five insurers provide full reimbursement
for the test.
Although a direct-to-consumer advertising campaign was launched in 2000, the public relations campaign was largely responsible for driving consumer interest. Media coverage of
the test's first availability in many areas led to the adoption of the ThinPrep method by neighboring labs and hospitals.
"Women across the United States are asking their physicians and health insurers to provide the ThinPrep Test," says Jeff Keene, public relations and corporate communications
director for Cytyc. "Our field sales force has been particularly impressed."
(Shanti Skiffington, 781/684-0770; Jeff Keene, 978/263-8000)
Campaign Stats
Agency Team: Lloyd Benson, Shanti Skiffington, Wendy Williams Kristina
Ebenius Cathy DiRamio Kim Becker Schwartz Communications
Client Player: Jeff Keene, Cytyc
Campaign Budget: As Cytyc's agency of record, Schwartz works on an annual
retainer; no additional project fees were incurred.
Campaign Duration: 1998-2000
Client's Growth and Revenues: Cytyc's annual sales recorded in 2000 totaled
$142 million, 75% higher than sales recorded in 1999.
Media Coverage: The campaign scored ink in Family Circle, Mademoiselle,
Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Women's World, Shape and Self, as well as
a variety of local newspapers.
Client's Growth and Revenues: Cytyc's annual sales recorded in 2000 totaled
$142 million, 75% higher than sales recorded in 1999.
Media Coverage: The campaign scored ink in Family Circle, Mademoiselle,
Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Women's World, Shape and Self, as well as
a variety of local newspaper coverage.