medical device Archives | G2 Communications Inc.-Medical Practice Marketing

Dec 26 2012

Your New Medical Treatment Could Change the World… But Not ‘Til the FDA Says So

Recently I attended a Media Panel for StartX and StartX Med founders. StartX is a highly regarded startup mentorship and accelerator program, built and run by Stanford University students, with Silicon Valley executives, VCs, Stanford faculty helping the founders succeed. These founders apply for a six-month program; less than 10% get in. While the majority run tech startups, StartX Med, which kicked off in June 2012, has 11 newly minted companies, including a biotech outfit started by a 21-year-old who has figured out how to turn skin cells into beating heart cells, and won a $20 million grant from the CA Institute for Regenerative Medicine! Another student is developing precision guidance implants to treat G-I diseases; think pacemakers for the GI tract. How about a robotic manipulator that performs ultrasounds during cancer treatment? These young founders are the future of healthcare.In a conversation with life sciences PR genius Rick Roose, of RCI Partners, we share some basic PR pointers for StartX Med founders…

When it comes to PR – and getting stories published about medical technology and the human body — beware of FDA marketing regulations and making premature claims. Until your biotech, pharma, medical device or diagnostic product is commercially available proceed with caution on all external communication fronts. Some products could be years in development before they’ve been proven safe and effective for patients. These are hope-to-be products in the R&D pipeline, getting ready for clinical trials. They are investigational until approved by the FDA.

So startup communications must clearly state what stage of development the product is in, i.e., still in research, not yet approved, etc. Founders need to stick to the science, share the pros and cons, and avoid selective disclosure of positive results data. Talk about clinical data but don’t make inferences or implied claims for unapproved products. For groundbreaking medical research journalists will accept: “Here’s what we know so far;” or “The data is very encouraging;” or “Doctors are excited about this new approach…” If you’re running a clinical trial you can publicize positive results but your audience should know the product has a long way to go.

Some startups aim for a nice juicy story to attract investors and partners at this early stage. But what happens after the initial excitement wears off? Good PR maintains the media’s attention in a meaningful way with a plan that incorporates all possible elements, mapped out on a PR calendar and a budget allocated for execution. While the stem cell treatment product is in development be available as a media expert to be called upon for articles related to this evolving technology. You’ll have company news to announce along the way: new executive hires, new funding, new partners, a new advisory board, etc. Without a sustained effort, PR is a hit-and-miss affair. You can get some big hits but it will be tough to keep the buzz going.

Nov 30 2012

How Your Healthcare Ad Agency Can Stand Out in a Crowd

While many small companies envision themselves in the pages of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, don’t underestimate the power of trade media coverage to improve search, and increase web traffic, product demand and quality sales leads.

One of our clients, a branding/advertising agency called Jocoto Advertising, serving the medical device and life sciences industries was definitely distinctive and edgy in its branding campaigns for lesser known medical device companies, who, being in a highly regulated industry, were inclined to be more conservative. Looking at the campaigns the agency created for its clients, one knew that Jocoto Advertising was different. But when it came to differentiating its own company, Jocoto tended to use the same language as its competitors so it was hard to see what set them apart. G²Comm had to find new words to promote the agency’s uniqueness.

We developed a platform about the conservative notions of branding in the medical device industry coupled with Jocoto’s unique approach. Our strategy focused on articulating branding pitfalls in the industry and how Jocoto’s proven approach helped its clients increase sales leads and revenues, presenting this story via news generation, case studies and ghost-written bylined articles appearing in biotech and other trade publications.

Jocoto saw a surge in new business accompanied the PR campaign which shined a spotlight on the company as a branding expert in its industry.

Oct 17 2012

The PR Honeymoon is Over… Now What?

You’ve just completed a successful PR launch for a new medical device that yields faster post-operative recovery for cardiac surgery patients, the clinical trial results have been published in a medical journal and the FDA has approved it for safety and efficacy. Health and science journalists from top media outlets thought it was unique enough to cover. The articles have been very respectable by startup standards.

Investors are delighted and all 20 employees are singing your praises. You’ve had lots to tweet about and post on the company Facebook page and the retweets and comments are rolling in.

But eventually the PR bloom will fall off the rose and the board will be expecting the next wave of coverage. Customers are not quite ready to go on record, nor are surgeons who are trying out the product. What do you do?

While you have focused on generating broad coverage with great success the second wave of brand building requires a new PR strategy to sustain momentum. It’s the right time to narrow your PR focus to reach your target customers – the surgeons who will push their hospitals for acquire your device; the patients who will benefit; the investors who see a healthy ROI. Identify the publications, blogs and other digital destinations where surgeons and post op nursing staff get their medical news and information. Set up specific PR programs to penetrate this second tier media: trade publications, medical journals, blogs, etc.

First, research healthcare and medical publications read by your customers. Check out the magazine editorial calendars which schedule feature stories throughout the year to drive advertising spending. Identify the topics related to your device. Set up a spreadsheet and populate with those publications and topics. Pitch your new device and how it shortens patient recovery times in unique ways. Invite the editor – or assigned writer to interview your company founder.

Develop a thought leadership program for company clinical executives by proposing and ghostwriting articles for those same publications, which are often looking for content, especially for their websites. These articles help position executives as experts who articulate the problem your device solves — but doesn’t shamelessly promote it.

Don’t forget to post and Tweet all PR driven content on Facebook and Twitter. Reshape these articles into blog posts, or add an introductory paragraph with a link to your published article.

Start a speakers’ bureau and arrange for speaking engagements at medical conferences and tradeshows where you’ll be exhibiting your product.

Find opportunities to announce the latest company news [following the initial product introduction]: a new round of funding; new customer; new executive hire; results of a clinical trial; etc.

Set up a mini PR program for new customers with a news release template that lets them announce the benefits of your product to the communities they serve and how they’re securing post-op safety for their cardiac patients.

Develop a story around the company founder for the business media; who she is; what inspired her to create a solution; her unique journey that led to the invention of the device.

Set up Google alerts on cardiology or cardiac surgery. Use headline news stories as angles to introduce your company to the media; pitch the founder as a guest for a radio talk show.

The honeymoon will end at some point so don’t ignore the myriad ways you can use PR to promote your company’s accomplishments.