Posts Tagged ‘Medical Devices’

Insert Your Device Name (Here) with Product Placement

Sales skyrocketed after Reese's Pieces appeared in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Photo credit: Jason at clicker.com)

All in an episode’s work?

Sure, product placement is nothing new. Hate it or love it, it cannot be ignored. But, one thing is for sure, there is no denying its impact.

Remember the yellow, orange and brown candy that made its big appearance during the movie E.T.? Although Reese’s Pieces were introduced in the market in 1979, it was not until 1982, when the blockbuster E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial featured the candy, that it instantly became wildly popular. Sales of the peanut butter-flavored candy shot up 65% in June, the month after the movie’s release. Continue reading »

New Quality Regulations for the Global Device Market

Despite a down economy and shaky healthcare environment, the global medical device industry is still expected to gross $312 billion in 2011 and will continue to expand at an annual rate of 4-6%. The FDA recently announced plans to unveil a strategy to combat the challenges caused by rapidly rising imports of FDA-regulated products and a complex supply chain in a report titled “Pathway to Global Product Safety and Quality.”

Highlights of the report include partnerships with the FDA’s “counterparts worldwide to create global coalitions of regulators focused on ensuring and improving global product safety and quality.” Continue reading »

Ford Brings Healthcare on the Road

Ford is giving the modern car a healthy spin. They recently announced the addition of health and wellness in-car connectivity solutions via the existing Ford SYNC system. Ford has teamed up with WellDoc, Medtronic and SDI Health in order to give consumers a well rounded technology that will help drivers and passengers keep up with their health while on the road.

Ford SYNC uses speech-to-text interactions to provide in-the-moment messages. It has the ability to monitor a diabetic’s glucose levels, monitor other chronic illnesses, detect unhealthy air conditions and offer wellness advice. The use cases are eye-opening. According to Auto Evolution: Continue reading »

Our “Manny” Secrets of Winning

Our agency was poppin’ champagne last week after a proud moment in New York — we took home our first ever Manny Award!  In the category of “Best Medical Device Campaign,” our VASER consumer brand campaign secured the hefty trophy — beating out both RosettaWishbone (for a Smith+Nephew campaign) and Beacon Healthcare Communications (for their BreathTek creative). A proud moment indeed.

So what was our secret to taking home the goods? Continue reading »

Try Something New in Your Healthcare Marketing Mix

The next time you create a marketing plan, think outside the box a little and try something new — your only limitation may be your imagination.

Let’s face it, in the not-so-distant past, your toolbox consisted of print, radio, TV and billboard. Now you have more tools: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs about your service category (like this one), long form commercials, smartphone product-branded shout-outs, client sponsored games, product placements in movies — and that’s just for starters.

"I am on a horse" — the Old Spice campaign was a hit on TV and online.

But what combination works? One consumer success story is the Old Spice “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign. Old Spice was, well…old, in the consumers’ minds. They needed to freshen up and appeal to a younger demographic. By running traditional print and TV ads, they reached a wide swath of people, but the younger, more digitally savvy audience was being overlooked. With a little extra money, YouTube videos were introduced and went viral. Millions watched the young funny guy with chiseled abs tout a product that was considered for old fuddy-duddies, and sales increased by an incredible 107%. Continue reading »

FDA’s Innovation Initiative Streamlines the Future of Medical Devices

More often than not, technology outdates its own regulations. Emerging medical devices are no exception. Recently the FDA launched its “Innovation Pathway” in order to speed up the process new devices undergo to make it to market.

The Innovation Pathway is a priority review program for new, breakthrough devices and is being implemented by the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). CDRH intends to improve upon the FDA’s premarket approval process, the 510(k) program, using the new “Innovation Initiative” along with 25 recommendations for the program. Download a PDF of the recommendations here.

Innovation Pathway Drives U.S. Medical Innovations

The new initiative will help to keep the country’s medical device innovation competitive in two ways: Continue reading »

Medical Device Recalls 101: My Device Was Recalled. Now What? (Part 2 of 2)

Part Two of a two-part series

The FDA’s overarching position (PDF) is not that they expect a company to be “recall free,” but they expect a company’s recalls to be conducted properly. Device marketers have to be on top of their game when responding — because, let’s face it, recalls happen. A locked-and-loaded communication strategy is a must.

Bottom line: you can’t always control the action, but you can control your reaction.

Depending on the class of the recall, you will have varying positions and responses. Here are some rules of thumb to get you over the hurdles:

FOUR-STEP RECALL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

1. Plan Ahead

As a marketer, you should be heeding the Boy Scout motto, “be prepared,” by putting together your crisis communication plan in advance. Make it a part of your annual strategic planning process. Consider various scenarios for potential recalls, and appropriate actions (and point persons), in order to react as swiftly as possible. Continue reading »

Health Care Reform Impacts Medical Device Manufacturers

While the 2010 U.S. healthcare reform act continues to spark debate among those for and against it, equally passionate arguments have stemmed out of how to pay for it. One such measure to help fill the coffers is the 2.3% Medical Device Tax that narrowly passed last year.

The device industry itself is up in arms about the excise tax, set to be enforced in 2013, claiming that it could put many smaller manufacturers out of business. According to the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, the overwhelming majority of technology innovation comes from these small companies, potentially impacting the new device pipeline. Continue reading »