Healthcare Case Studies
See our Healthcare client list.
Enzo Life Sciences
- Objective: Enzo came to us with a need to clarify their corporate message, which had become convoluted as a result of a long corporate lifespan and the company’s presence in several distinct sectors. This message needed to be tailored and communicated to a range of stakeholders: consumers, doctors and current and potential investors.
- Strategy: BlissHealth worked with Enzo to clarify who they are as a company.
- Tactics: BlissHealth wrote new, concise corporate positioning statements that expressed the company’s new positioning. We then revamped their investor presentations and analyzed the company’s upcoming activities to identify milestones that could be used for maximum leverage with the consumer media, trade media and investors. We built a media outreach plan based on these milestones, and we are currently using it to guide targeted communication and build maximum media visibility. At the same time, we are helping Enzo prepare for upcoming investor presentations using their updated corporate materials and positioning.
- Results: In progress…check back soon!
Biotronik: Crisis Averted
- Objective: Biotronik needed to respond proactively to speculation that clinical trial endpoints for a revolutionary new device were in question. Company managers were scheduled to announce progress to date at a major industry conference.
- Strategy: Confirm long-term safety and feasibility of the device; prevent the “rumor mill” from painting a picture that might result in sales force and/or customer defections.
- Tactics: BlissHealth conducted interviews with Biotronik management, researchers and sales professionals. Using this information, we developed three deliverables: (1) a press release announcing the results of the Phase 1 clinical trials; (2) media training materials for senior management and (3) Q&A documents for the sales force. We then conducted a full-day media training session for company spokespeople and organized an internal update meeting for sales representatives on the “good news behind the clinical trials”. Long-term plans for future trials and launches were also developed.
- Results: BlissHealth effectively equipped sales force meeting representatives to answer difficult questions from customers and key opinion leaders. In fact, many Biotronik representatives remarked that “recent market rumors” about the trials were much more negative than the actual news turned out to be. Coverage of the official announcement resulted in one major story in the international press and several minor stories in trade publications—all of which touted the initial study results as “promising” and called for additional research to validate efficacy.
Millennium Laboratories
- Objective: Millennium Laboratories approached us in 2011, when they faced crises stemming from competitor rumors in the marketplace. After quelling the initial rumors, BlissHealth worked with Millennium Laboratories to prevent the occurrence of further rumors by establishing the company as a thought leader in the field of research-based pain management.
- Strategy: Associate Millennium with responsible pain management platforms, like transitioning disabled veterans back to daily life from wartime (particularly in job hunt efforts), and supporting pharmacy student research on chronic pain.
- Tactics: BlissHealth leveraged the work of the non-profit Millennium Research Institute (MRI), highlighting its research efforts in responsible pain management. BlissHealth reached out to media to increase awareness of Millennium’s partnerships with trusted names in the pain management community, including the American Chronic Pain Association and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Results: Successfully raised Millennium Laboratories’ profile as a thought leader in research-based pain management through the placement of stories in outlets as varied as local TV stations, veterans and disability trade publications and active military weekly publications.
Hay Group Healthcare
- Hay Group Healthcare: Hay Group’s Healthcare practice “connects the dots” for hospital boards between hospital management performance and compensation.
- Goal: Gain visibility among an executive healthcare audience as an acknowledged leader in executive compensation for hospitals and developing/managing talent.
- Method: BlissPR worked with Hay Group to shape PR messages and media train spokespeople. We secured interviews and articles showcasing their expertise in exec comp, and across other practice areas, e.g., board issues, leadership succession.
- Results: We secured coverage in Trustee, HealthLeaders and Physician’s Compensation Report.
MetLife, Inc.: Disability Campaign
- MetLife, Inc.: A leading provider of insurance and financial services to individual and institutional customers.
- Goal: Increase market share of MetLife’s Disability Group by increasing awareness among both institutional and individual markets.
- Project: Media relations campaign to highlight MetLife’s extensive expertise and promote A Year in the Life of a Million American Workers, a research guide based on MetLife’s extensive database of more than 4 million employees.
- Method: In partnership with MetLife’s Media Relations Group, BlissPR launched a multiyear communications program, which included press releases, themed pitches, employee polls and bylined articles. As part of the book launch, we developed press releases, highlighted “nuggets” of data on top five disabilities, including flu/allergy season and obesity-related diseases.
- Results: The campaign generated more than 110 national, business and trade publication hits and multiple speaking opportunities for MetLife. Positioned book as “almanac” of absence management and disability-related data; resulting in author, Dr. Ronald Leopold, MD, National Medical Director and Vice President of MetLife Disability, now being perceived as one of the leading experts on disability trends, absence and disease management programs. In recognition of these results, BlissPR and MetLife were awarded the PRSA’s Silver Anvil Award.
Medical Device Company: Crisis Communications
- Medical Device Company: Leading European device manufacturer with a worldwide market presence.
- Situation: Potential set back in clinical trials. Study endpoints in question. Company management scheduled to announce progress-to-date at a major industry conference.
- Goal: Confirm longterm safety and feasibility of device; prevent rumor-mill from painting picture that might result in sales force and/or customer defections.
- Project: Develop announcement for senior management. Media train management team and sales force on the “good news behind the clinical trials” and long-term plans for future trials and launch.
- Method: We conducted interviews with company management, researchers and sales professionals. Using this information, we developed three deliverables: (1) a press release announcing the results of the phase one clinical trials; (2) media training materials for senior management; and (3) Q&A documents for the sales force. We then conducted a full-day media training session for company spokespeople and organized an internal Update Meeting for sales representatives.
- Results: The sales force meeting equipped representatives to answer difficult questions from customers and Key Opinion Leaders. In fact, many representatives remarked that “recent market rumors” about the trials were much more negative than the actual news turned out to be. Coverage of the official announcement resulted in one major story in the international press and several minor stories (in trade publications), all of which touted the initial study results as “promising” and called for additional research to validate efficacy.
OraPharma, Inc.
- OraPharma, Inc.: A specialty pharmaceutical company, founded in 1996, which develops and commercializes therapies for oral health.
- Goal: To elevate the oral health profession by raising visibility for recent clinical studies linking aggressive treatment of periodontal disease to lower rates of heart disease, diabetes and pre-term labor.
- Project: While many dental practitioners are well aware of the growing body of research linking gum disease to serious medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and pre-term labor, the connection is less understood among consumers, insurers, policymakers and benefits managers. To get the message out, OraPharma—a specialty pharmaceutical company whose flagship product treats periodontal disease—worked with BlissPR to promote a series of clinical studies on the topic.
- Method: BlissPR issued a series of press releases and audio news releases on the research. We also drafted bylined articles for consumer and HR trade publications, offering up Oral Health Tips, Workplace Wellness Advice and New Ways to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease.
- Results: By providing access to clinical experts and leading periodontists, we were able to secure coverage in more than 50 media outlets, including major regional newspapers, consumer health publications, aging/wellness newsletters, HR trade publications, national radio stations and national business publications such as the Wall Street Journal. Research results also appeared in numerous scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine.
