Company: Restore Medical
Agency: Lois Paul & Partners
Budget: $60,000 (three-month launch)
Timeframe: September 2004 to present
Here's a unique way to measure the success of a PR campaign: Having Jay Leno refer to the item being promoted during "The Tonight Show" - and not in a snarky manner. For
Melissa Zipin, reaching the pinnacle of late-night television was a crowning achievement in a complex campaign to bring a new medical procedure to national attention.
The campaign centered on the Pillar Procedure, the first FDA-approved implant to combat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Created by Restore Medical of St. Paul,
MN, the Pillar Procedure involves the non-surgical insertion of three tiny woven implants into a patient's soft palate; the sagging palate is the key reason for apnea. The
implants cause the palate to stiffen, which in turn reduces or prevents blockages of the airway. The result is an acute reduction in snoring. The implants take 10 minutes to
insert and do not require replacing.
While Restore Medical was innovative in regard to treating apnea, its initial in-house PR push didn't exactly cause the media to wake up. In the first year following the
product's 2003 introduction during clinical trials, the company only generated a few articles in smaller newspapers scattered about the country; their effort generated little in
the way of inquiries from doctors or patients. But the company had a rare second chance to make the proverbial first impression via the FDA's planned September 14, 2004 judgment
on the procedure. Not to drop the PR ball, Restore Medical opted for professional PR help.
Enter Lois Paul & Partners in Woburn, MA, who was hired to promote the Pillar Procedure over a three-month rollout period. Paul realized her target audience was
two-fold: Potential patients who needed a quick and effective way to tone down their snoring and medical professional who would be performing the procedure. The latter target,
however, was the more challenging for her.
"A lot of doctors have been over-promised and under-delivered with all types of technologies," says Melissa Zipin, vice president of life sciences and practices at Lois Paul
& Partners. "We knew we had a little bit of a hurdle to get physicians to look at us."
For reaching a consumer audience, there was also the problem of the calendar. "The timing (of the FDA announcement) fell around both Labor Day and the Summer Olympics," she
continues. "We didn't want to catch people when they were too busy or when they were off having a long weekend. Plus, we didn't have an Olympics angle to go with our story."
But time was on Zipin's side in one key area. The American Academy of Otolaryngology was having its annual conference beginning on September 19, which was five days
after the FDA's planned announcement. While the AAO event was clearly not going to be a major story for the general interest media, Zipin had the medical professional she needed
to reach at the right time. Restore Medical was planning to make a presentation at the conference highlighting the successful studies for the Pillar Procedure.
What's Up, Doc?
Zipin's initial thrust was to bring as much medical backing to the PR message as she could accommodate. "We sought out the leading physicians who were part of the Pillar
Procedure's clinical trials, as well as the thought leaders in the industry," she says. More than 20 doctors were identified who agreed to work with Paul in discussing the
benefits of the Pillar Procedure with the media. Of course, the input of these medical professionals wasn't entirely altruistic.
"They were very, very willing to talk to us," she adds. "We were giving them free PR to build their practices." Paul also secured a third-party quote from the American
Sleep Apnea Association, which was included in the launch press release, and worked to successfully set up a "Pillar Procedure Q&A" on the association's Web site.
Meet The Press
For the mainstream media rollout, Zipin split her focus in half. The top tier press was targeted, with a bravura exclusive arranged in the Personal Journal section of the
Wall Street Journal. (The newspaper would later revisit the Pillar Procedure in November 2004 by honoring it as a runner-up in the "Biotech-Medical" category of The
Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards.) A VNR was also produced that featured physician and patient testimonials, original animation of the procedure, and a b-roll
of alternative treatment options.
Zipin made a concentrated effort to focus on women's media, particularly outlets catering to adult women. "After a certain age, for women going through menopause, everything
droops - including the palate," she says.
After the national media push that covered roughly a 12-month period (by this point the initial three-month PR project was already extended), Zipin reinvigorated the Pillar
Procedure campaign to focus on major regional media. Word of mouth spread among the medical community, and Zipin began to work with more doctors who were eager to talk up the
Pillar Procedure.
"Since we started, we've had localized coverage in all 50 states," she says.
The Leno Monologue
Which brings us back full circle to Jay Leno and "The Tonight Show." Zipin notes that Leno referred to the procedure in his opening monologue, albeit not by name (she adds
that is fine, since it is the only procedure of its kind). Leno mercifully spared the procedure from being a target of his barbed jokes, using instead as a launching point for a
sight gag on an "alternative" method to stopping apnea (the gag involved a woman pounding her snoring husband with a bat).
Zipin theorizes Leno or his writers might have learned of the Pillar Procedure from a local Los Angeles television news report she coordinated that appeared shortly before that
segment of "The Tonight Show."
The ROI of this effort: Restore Medical received more than 200 patient leads and more than 150 new physician leads in the first week of the PR push alone. In four months, the
PR effort generated approximately 300 new physicians (the company's original goal was 190). John Foster, senior vice president of commercial operations at Restore Medical,
credited the PR campaign as "the most significant piece of our overall marketing strategy." He adds the PR campaign allowed Restore Medical to "far exceed our company's sales
goals - and the momentum continues."
And, of course, thanks to Zipin's work, Lois Paul & Partners has since been retained as Restore Medical's agency of record. Which (pardon the pun) is nothing to yawn
about.
Contacts: Melissa Zipin, [email protected]; John Foster, 651.634.3111.
Lessons Learned: Keeping New Products Relevant
Melissa Zipin of Lois Paul & Partners successfully spun a three-month PR project into an on-going and highly successful campaign for the Pillar Procedure. Zipin did
not make a mistake that too many PR professionals make: Believing that a "new product" launch has an expiration date. Here are some tips for keeping a new product launch fresh and
vibrant over an extended period of time:
Time the announcement properly. Be careful of high-profile events that inevitably hog the media spotlight (major awards, sporting tournaments, political conventions or
debates, etc). Also, try to avoid making announcements around holidays (people are either traveling or not paying close attention to the news).
Be careful with trade shows. When making a product announcement at a trade show, try to coordinate in advance with the media who are planning to attend the event. This
is easier than trying to lasso reporters on the convention floor. But even better, try waiting for the official PR push until about two weeks after a trade show. By then, the
trade media will have exhausted its coverage of the event and will need to fill its pages with more news.
Keep the case studies coming. Zipin wisely built up a small army of physicians who were able to provide case study support of the Pillar Procedure. Case studies are
crucial for any continuing product coverage, so be certain you have plenty of happy clients who can speak up on your behalf. For a product or service with applications in a wide
number of vertical industries, keep abreast of the trade coverage for those industries to see if you can make successful contact there. Remember, the product will always be a
"new" product if an editor or producer is only learning about for the first time!