Monday, May 21st, 2012
$100 Million is a lot to spend on a traditional advertising campaign, especially when all of the research dictates that traditional doesn’t work very well … but when you’re the world’s leading manufacturer of electronic heart devices… you follow the traditional route. And that’s exactly what Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) has done. The campaign will seek to “raise awareness” of the risks of sudden cardiac death and hopefully increase sales of its implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD). The traditional route planned: a series of print, TV and online ads. The full-page ad in today’s New York Times (Page A9) caught my eye and led me to their branded website at www.whatsinside.com where an odd testimonial from ‘Vivian’ screams out: “If your doctor recommends it, you should do it”. Although Medtronic’s overall sales have been strong, sales of its implantable cardiac defibrillators declined last year. I was hoping that in today’s world of branded opportunities, CEO Art Collins would be a little smarter in his DTC approach. Another cardiac device maker St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE: STJ) has seen profits rise significantly and sales rise significantly without any apparent DTC approach. Why all this talk about “implantable cardiac defibrillators” and the market leaders? Believe it or not, even this ‘not very sexy’ device would be perfect for product placement. For example, when defibrillators became the rage 2 years ago, my team had a deal in place for one of the market leaders to ‘star’ in a top-rated wrestling show. The plot: Wrestler with heart condition has heart attack in the ring and requires zap from defibrillator to come back to life. After he gets zapped, he fights back to win the round. Wrestling executive producers were excited to do it, not only for the sponsorship dollars, but a year prior .. one of their wrestlers died in the ring and there was no defibrillator around. The best part about plot lines in wrestling, his ‘doctors’ would require the defibrillator unit at ringside for every fight. Brilliant idea — but the defibrillator company was too ‘traditionally minded’ and passed. With aging actors in television, it will only be a matter of time until an actor requires an ICD in real life. If I were Art Collins or Daniel J. Starks, I would bust thru my traditional layer of marketing, get over my fears of the FDA and think ahead to the best way to introduce Americans to the ICD. I can see it now .. Rain Wilson’s character on The Office has a severe gas attack after a large meal. The pain increases and it turns out to be a minor heart attack. Doctors recommend an ICD due to his family history … he remembers the ‘Whats Inside’ commercial about ’10,000 more kisses’ and returns to work implanted with an ICD.
