The promotional buzz Hollywood created for one of its motion pictures last year provided a unique opportunity to jump start media interest in a new medical device for anesthesiologists.
The movie, "Desperate Measures," starring Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton features the BIS (Bispectral Index) Monitor in a pivotal plot scene which provided a timely back drop for a VNR campaign targeting consumers.
The movie's release in January helped to put a new and exciting twist on the consumer news coverage, focusing on the device's recovery benefits for patients who undergo surgery.
The device, developed by Aspect Medical Systems in Natick, Mass., is the first FDA-approved product for monitoring a patient's consciousness while under anesthesia, alleviating the tendency to over- or under-medicate patients during surgery. The media relations campaign, launched by Fischer & Partners (F&P) in Marina del Rey, Calif., achieved the right balance of generating trade then consumer media coverage.
This is a cornerstone strategy in the agency's communications programs for healthcare clients - first do the "meat and potatoes" work of establishing credibility among physicians and medical organizations then create a consumer splash to reach a broader audience.
Without this communications priority, your consumer efforts can backfire - causing core audiences like physicians, hospitals and associations to become alienated and offended, says Sandra Bougeon, F&P's SVP and chief strategy officer in the medical devices and technology group.
The consumer campaign, which involved the VNR, and other media relations efforts, generated more than 150 million impressions nationally and 20 million impressions regionally.
Controversial Media Hook
Despite the PR positioning focus on the monitor's patient recovery benefits, the hook that generated the most consumer media interest was the controversial intraoperative awareness issue that involves the unintentional regaining of consciousness during surgery. Although this rarely occurs, it became the issue consumer media outlets like Time magazine, "20/20" and the "Oprah Winfrey Show" gravitated to because there had already been a well-publicized advocacy effort to raise awareness about the problem and it was the most sensational angle.
While F&P anticipated this media focus, the timing threw the PR team off and sidetracked the campaign's focus. Time magazine ignited the consumer coverage in late 1997, shortly after a major trade show for the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) at a time when F&P was focusing on the trade phase of the campaign. To address this angle, the campaign was tweaked to bring balance to the issue of intraoperative awareness with medical experts who provided context and product positioning messages that highlighted how the BIS Monitor helps anesthesiologists avoid under-medicating patients. "We had to manage this [issue] or it would have managed us," says Lorie Fiber, an F&P account supervisor.
This issue also became a springboard PR opportunity for Aspect's customers - hospitals and other healthcare providers - to leverage the national attention into high-profile local PR opportunities. Hospital PR departments were given turnkey PR tools, including press releases and VNR/b-roll footage, that helped them position their facilities as cutting edge healthcare leaders in the community, says Nassib Chamoun, Aspect's president and CEO.
The Clinical Launch Pad
To establish long-term marketing credibility, it's essential to have access to a wealth of clinical information when building a communications program for a new medical product like the BIS Monitor. Aspect spent nine years and millions of dollars to develop the technology for the monitor prior to its FDA approval in 1996. By the time the monitor hit the market in 1997, its clinical arsenal included 5,000 patients who participated in clinical trials and more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in medical journals. This amount of clinical ammunition is a rarity for a new healthcare company and became a major PR benefit, says Bougeon.
The clinical emphasis also helps with convincing a broad range of healthcare decision-makers -from doctors and nurses to hospital administrators and managed care executives - that new medical products have to get buy-in from, says Chamoun. So far, the monitor, that costs $8,900 and at least $15 per patient use, is being used by more than 260 hospitals nationwide, 16 percent of which are among the top teaching healthcare facilities.
The 1998 integrated campaign, that includes internal and external PR, trade advertising and production, costs approximately $1 million. (F&P, Sandra Bougeon, Lorie Fiber, 310/577-7870; Aspect, Nassib Chamoun, 508/653-0603)
Clinical Ammunition
Having access to a wealth of clinical research is essential to generating press coverage for a new medical device, like the BIS Monitor. The Fischer & Partners PR team used this research to:
- Position the monitor as a revolutionary anesthesiology device and back the claim up with extensive clinical validity.
- Generate respect and credibility from the medical community who base most of their decisions and perceptions on empirical data.
- Evolve to a second tier of awareness that focuses on positive qualitative outcomes involving patient results and economic savings.
Source: Fischer & Partners
Fischer & Partners
Headquarters: Marina del Rey, CA
Founded: 1994
Employees: 20
Clients: Ernst & Young LLP National Health Care Practice, Fuji Medical Systems, Thermo Cardiosystems
Focus: Healthcare marcom, media relations and corporate communications