Campaign: "Heartstream Forerunner Saves Lives"
Company: Schwartz Communic. (Waltham, Mass, 617/684-0770)
Campaign Budget: $200,000 (fully utilized)
Armed with two strategic objectives, this campaign proved to be a great example of well-executed cause marketing.
The primary goal of this campaign was to support and enhance the American Heart Association's (AHA) mission to generate mass awareness of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and the critical need for rapid access to defribillation (restoring a normal heart rhythm).
Secondarily, Heartstream needed to drive awareness and create demand among emergency first responders for a product capable of providing broad deployment of defribillation.
The Schwartz team rolled their sleeves up in May 1996 and found _ upon researching the Automatic External Defribillator (AED) market _ that the campaign's success hinged on overcoming two major obstacles:
- Successfully distinguishing the Forerunner from other AED technologies that had been around since the 1980's, and
- Creating an explosive "knee-jerk" media campaign (triggered by FDA approval) that would get the word out about the Forerunner's breakthrough technology.
"Although the media was pretty familiar with sudden cardiac arrest, they weren't aware of the low 20 percent survival rate and that most emergency first responders were not equipped with AED technology. We had to change that," said Lloyd Benson, senior vice president at Schwartz Communications.
Getting National Placement
Because FDA approval was not expected until the Fall, the team took a "stage-setter" approach to the media by slowly escalating awareness levels of SCA and the Forerunner through national print placements like Business Week and The Wall Street Journal.
The campaign intensified in September when the team pre-briefed major media outlets that included Associated Press, Reuters, and "Good Morning America," under non-disclosure.
During this phase, the press was provided with a useful host of press sources: cardiologists, paramedics, emergency medicine physicians, an SCA survivor and representatives from Heartstream and AHA.
"Our message to the media was simple," explained Benson. "Sudden cardiac arrest can strike any time, anywhere, with no warning. Will the emergency first responder have an AED?"
FDA approval came at 4:10 p.m. on September 11, and the team didn't miss a beat. Working through the night with editors and producers; the very next day, the Forerunner was successfully positioned on programs like "Good Morning America" and "CBS This Morning" as well as each of the major wire services.
To ensure broad evening news exposure, the VNR was transmitted on satellite in the early afternoon.
American Airline Deal Flies
The campaign's momentum continued to escalate. As a direct result of all the favorable media, American Airlines _which Heartstream had been courting _ decided to become the first U.S. airline to carry Forerunners on its flights.
For Heartstream, which previously had no real public profile, this was a major coup. "Suddenly this small company became central to the fight against SCA, "recalled Benson.
Exceeding all expectations, this campaign not only grabbed the attention of more than 122 million Americans who learned about SCA and the Forerunner's pivotal role in increasing the survival rate among SCA sufferers, but also boasted tangible results with the sale of the Forerunner to American Airlines.
The Team
Lloyd Benson, senior vice president, Schwartz Communications;
Jessica Fetterman, assistant account executive, Schwartz Communications;
John Harris, director of business development, Heartstream;
Shanti Nigam, account executive, Schwartz Communications;
Helen Shick, senior account executive, Schwartz Communications;
Keith Serzen, vice-president of sales, Heartstream; and
Nigel Smith, director, Schwartz Communications.