SCHWARTZ HEALTHCARE-IT BLOG

Issue Oriented PR - A Case Study

Part 10 in a Continuing Series on PR Strategies and Tactics

Many of you liked the last PR case study on Med-InfoChip, so this week brings another illustration of public relations tactics to help healthcare IT marketers.

Skyscape is a provider of interactive, intelligent mobile solutions for the healthcare community. The company brings drug and medical information to more than 250,000 medical professionals on their personal digital assistants (PDAs) in a context they can use, reducing medical errors and the time doctors need to spend consulting information and adding value by providing access to the latest diagnostic and drug interaction information. Continue reading to learn how our issue-oriented PR campaign landed the client a feature story in the Wall Street Journal, national TV coverage, and reams of trade press...

Business Challenge

Adding more doctors, nurses and other medical professionals as subscribers was critical to Skyscape's continued success.  Skyscape faced competitors that offer a similar product, with less functionality, for no cost. These competitors also have alliances with some of the largest health networks in the country. To counter these competitors, Skyscape had to expand its message beyond its traditional point of differentiation-improved efficiency. To fully realize the market's growth potential, Skyscape needed to communicate an even more compelling, and quantifiable, benefit-that PDA software can help physicians significantly reduce medical errors.

Schwartz PR Strategy

To build Skyscape's momentum in the market, increase awareness of the company's offerings, grow its user base and communicate that PDAs help reduce medical errors, Schwartz Communications worked with Skyscape to design a media relations campaign that would raise medical professionals' awareness of Skyscape and the benefits of its product.

Schwartz designed and executed a "rolling-thunder" issues PR campaign that focused primarily on communicating the message that PDAs can help reduce medical errors and improve the quality of care. Schwartz used two primary tactics to generate media coverage. The first was user testimonials. While doctors and nurses are often spokespeople for medical devices and new treatments, Schwartz contacted and screened Skyscape's user base to find those that would be references for software.

The second tactic was a guerilla PR campaign that leveraged breaking news, such as the military's deployment to the Middle East and how PDA software can give physicians the most up-to-date information on SARS, Monkeypox and other medical issues. Each article generated by Schwartz public relations campaign needed to include two key Skyscape messages to be considered a success:

  - Skyscape's technology makes doctor and nurses more efficient.
  - Skyscape and PDA software can significantly reduce the number of medical errors

Results

The Skyscape awareness campaign was a success and impacted the company's bottom-line results as it tripled its user base in the past year. Skyscape considered PR to be a central aspect of its outreach to potential customers, and the features Schwartz secured were leveraged by Skyscape's sales force.

The media coverage that helped drive this growth was impressive. In the first six months alone, media coverage exceeded expectations for the year by more than 200 percent. The guerilla PR campaign generated a number of trend stories, such as one on U.S. Army medics' use of Skyscape software on their PDAs that appeared in The Wall Street Journal and on a syndicated NBC television feature that aired in more than 24 markets. The roles PDAs can play in fighting SARS also appeared in The Wall Street Journal and all key medical technology publications.

The PR coverage around the reduction in medical errors was just as impressive. Most notable was a feature article in Reader's Digest, which quoted a Skyscape user and included the company's key messages. This article alone generated hundreds of inquiries into Skyscape. Schwartz also used the healthcare IT trades to reach enterprise buyers. All major healthcare IT publications included at least one standalone feature on the company and its products over the year. Skyscape was also included in the majority of stories that appeared in those publications that mentioned PDAs.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on July 23, 2007 at 12:54 PM
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