Capturing the attention of a difficult-to-reach target like physicians requires not only imaginative campaign ideas but marketing strategy that immediately answers the doctors' question "What Do I get for my limited time?"
Managed care, with its increasing demand on physicians' time, has left narrower than ever window of opportunity for marketers to communicate with them. Therefore, trade show marketers are brainstorming increasingly time-conscious and value-oriented campaign ideas in addition to being unique and somewhat entertaining. In this article, we explore a few successful and innovated campaigns to attract physicians.
Capital RSVPs
Duffey Communications, Inc., (Atlanta) capitalized on the Capital locale of a key industry conference held in Washington, D.C. for its client, Genzyme Surgical Products, that would be debuting its breakthroughs for minimally invasive heart surgery to cardiovascular surgeons. To provide a compelling reason for these surgeons to attend an off-site Genzyme event that would cut into their free evening time, Duffey's marketers decided on a unique and cozy reception at the historic Russell Caucus Room, where everything from the Titanic to the Watergate hearings took place. "What was so great about this event was that it truly was a magical evening for doctors and their spouses who could walk freely around the capital after hours when it was lit up after learning about the latest minimally invasive cardiac surgery techniques," said Eric Tanenblatt, Duffey's executive VP on the $10,000 to $15,000 campaign.
About 10 days before the American Association for Thoracic Surgery conference, Duffey sent invitations for the special capital reception to the association's 2,500 members of thoracic surgeons. Expecting that about a third of the association's members would attend the show, the Duffey team anticipated an RSVP response of about 250 surgeons (including their spouses).
But the invitations generated such an overwhelming response that Duffey reception exceeded its limit of 350 (set by capital police), maxing out at about 400 surgeons and their spouses in attendance. For about an hour, Genzyme had a captive audience of surgeons listening to its latest techniques for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. What made all the difference, according to Tanennblatt, was using three doctors to make the presentation. Afterwards, Genzyme's chairman and sales team had a rare opportunity to mix and mingle with the surgeons in a casual, one-on-one social environment.
The reception was such a hit that that Genzyme generated more than 350 sales leads at the show with training classes filling up monthly.
'Perfect Fit' Marketing
Using humor and a little fairytale charm, the marketing team at Littlefield Smart Communications (Tulsa, Okla.) created a direct mail campaign that compared a dental instrument for root canals to Cinderalla's slippers and King Arthur's sword in the stone. Promoting a "perfect fit" concept for its client Tulsa Dental Products, the campaign, headed by Debbie Beaver, account manager, emphasized key "better, faster, easier" product benefits of Tulsa's new Thermafil Plus obturator at an industry show for endontists held February in Chicago.
About a week prior to the show, 4,000 Cinderella mailers (at $3 to $4 each) were sent to show attendees that promoted a Thermafil Plus contest to drive traffic to Tulsa Dental's booth. They received a 6"x5" box that read on the outside "Cinderella had her glass slipper." and on the inside read "King Arthur had his sword in the stone. You've got your Thermafil Plus obturator." The box contained the new Thermafil obturator endodontists would use to do fills for root canals. The copy emphasized its perfect three-dimensional fit and promoted a "see it for yourself" contest that urged the dentists to bring the instrument to the Tulsa booth, fit it into a display tooth and register to win a complete Thermafil starter kit valued at $300 to $400 each.
At the show, the $14,000 direct mail effort was supported by print advertising in special show issues of trade journals like the Journal of Endodontics, Dentistry and General Dentistry. The overall campaign worked, generating high volume booth traffic and record-high sales, says Tulsa Dental.
This was a major coup, according to Beaver, who says that capturing dentists attention is getting more difficult in a managed care environment. "They are seeing double their case load and making the same amount of money, so you have to grab their attention by doing something out of the ordinary." In this case, Beaver added that a pricey mailer more than justified the upfront costs given the sales generated at the booth.
Parke-Davis/Federal Express Delivers Targeted Behavioral Info.
Getting doctors to stand still for five to 10 minutes and fill out an opinion survey for a pharmaceutical company can be next to impossible at a major trade show where hundreds of companies are vying for the same amount of physician time to pitch product information and make presentations on the latest procedures.
But often the most ingenious strategy is also the most simple, as the marketing folks at the Frontier Media Group (FMG-Malvern, Pa.) realized with its recent "Parke-Davis Delivers" campaign at the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists show in New Orleans which involved a Parke-Davis coop with Federal Express and multimedia booth presentations designed by FMG.
To capture key behavioral information from the thousands of pharmacists and physicians in attendance, Parke-Davis lured weary attendees into its booth by offering them the opportunity to unload their convention take-aways with free FedEx delivery to a location of their choosing.
All the physicians had to do was swipe their magnetic-striped badge through a card reader (which collected basic their basic demographic information) then fill out a brief survey regarding their service needs and specific opinions of Parke-Davis.
"For a temperature-taking campaign like this, the physicians needed to see an immediate payoff, offering to send up to 10 pounds of their promotional giveaways free was of real value to them," said Jim Burke, FMG's marketing manager, who said the booth presentation cost about $50,000 to $150,000 to design. (Parke-Davis negotiated directly with Federal Express for volume discounts on delivery.)
Physicians were more than accommodating, forming lines of five to ten at each kiosk, which eventually required a third kiosk to handle all of the traffic.
After the conference, Parke-Davis was armed with fresh, first-hand information about their customers' attitudes, preferences and behavior, an invaluable marketing arsenal for corporate positioning efforts and targeted lead generation. (Duffey Communications, Inc,, 404/266-2600; Littlefield Smart Communications, 918/742-7250; FMG, 610/647-5535 ext.112)
Building Traffic at Trade Shows
To generate traffic at trade shows, Eric Tanenblatt, Duffey's vice president, suggest viewing the show promotion like a retail promotion. The key is giving doctors compelling reasons to visit your company's booth to learn about product innovations. He offers the following tips:
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