These days, you have to use everything you can to make the most of precious marketing dollars. So instead of relying on your intellect alone, why not leverage your five senses? You use sound, smell, touch, taste and sight more than you realize to dimensionalize your brand. But by being more deliberate, you can take your brand even further.
Be heard
For instance, suppose you make a surgical device with an auditory locking mechanism. Here, sound is an important part of your brand. Why not create a 3D mailer with a sound chip? Or perhaps you make a left ventricular assist device where quiet operation is an important differentiator — and key to patient adoption. How can you bring the sound of silence to life? By opening your ears, you can be heard more in the marketplace.
Let them feel your brand
We worked with a client that makes an adhesive mesh for surgical repair. To emphasize product integrity, we sent out samples that physicians could dip in liquid and test for strength. Don’t just talk about your product. Give customers a feel for it.
Show. Don’t tell.
For a mechanical thrombectomy device that’s incredibly easy to operate, we created booth graphics, a brochure and a cart chart that reflected this simplicity. They were clean-looking, with lots of white space, and very light on copy. It may not be easy to romance an innovative product with few words, but you know what they say: Seeing is believing.
Smells like BS
Okay, smell may not be the most useful sense for medical devices. You might find a way to use it for a nasal packing product, an endoscopic tool for nasal surgery or some other product that impacts the nose. But better make sure it’s smart and relevant, or your customers will smell something fishy.
Leave a good taste in their mouths
If all else fails, you can always offer better cookies than your competitors at a trade show. Or a locally produced healthy snack to illustrate your commitment to improving human health. By giving them a little taste of your hospitality, you can whet their appetites for something more.
Of course, we don’t want to minimize the importance of data and science in marketing your product. But if your shrinking budget is enough to make you lose your senses, just remember: It’s always an option to use them.
{IMAGELEFT:http://www.massdevice.com/sites/default/wp-content/uploads/headshots/See_Nik_100x100.jpg}Nik See is Seidler Bernstein’s director of brand planning & strategy. He has worked with a diverse list of organizations including Macy’s, Best Buy, Pillsbury, 3M, Cargill, Second Harvest, Ten Thousand Villages, Kohler, General Mills, Royal Caribbean International, Target Corporation and Levi’s. See earned a BS in Mass Communications and Advertising from St. Cloud State University. He speaks fluent Mandarin, Cantonese and Malay. See is a member of, and an active contributor to, the Taproot Foundation; he is also a member of the Design Management Institute, AIGA (formerly the American Institute of Graphic Arts), the Advertising Federation and the Asia Pacific Brand Council.
{IMAGELEFT:http://www.massdevice.com/sites/default/wp-content/uploads/headshots/Brubake_Tod_100x100.jpg}Tod Brubaker is the firm’s associate creative director for copy. His extensive experience includes group copy director, working on biotech and healthcare accounts such as Amgen and Xenogen, and running a freelance business, Penman, Ink where he wrote award-winning copy for Ethicon (J&J) and served other clients such as Eli Lilly and Pfizer. Tod has accumulated industry honors including Cannes, Clio and Addy awards, as well as top honors for print at the Johnson & Johnson James E. Burke Marketing Excellence Awards.
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