Over the past few years, there has been a real shift in how medtech companies are approaching their marketing.
Traditionally, medtech companies have been much more buttoned-up and serious in their marketing efforts. Some of the latest things we’re seeing have a much lighter angle and are more substantially taking customer feedback into account. It’s really refreshing to see how the industry is evolving in this regard.
We consulted some of our favorite sources and experts on the latest direct to patient marketing trends, and these are some of the things you can look out for.
New Innovations That Improve Patient Experience
This year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Siemens Healthineers won the Grand Prix in the Pharma Lions category.
Their winning submission involved a unique approach to helping children through MRIs. The machines make sounds during the exam that can be quite frightening for small children. The solution? Create audiobooks that work with those noises by incorporating them into the story. Rather than hearing a bunch of scary sounds, the child experiences a fun, immersive story.
It’s worth noting that medical device companies have won the Grand Prix for several years running over pharma companies. In fact, a pharma company has not won the top honor since 2019. During and post-pandemic, medical device companies have really worked hard at developing innovative new solutions that improve the patient experience.
The Return of Joy & Humor
The pandemic may have pushed many medtech companies to develop more innovative solutions, but it also resulted in a shift toward more “serious” marketing. We’ve all seen countless ads and messages about the “unprecedented time” we were in.
An article on The Drum notes that Kantar found that humor in advertising has dropped pretty consistently since 2002, with bigger dips around the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic. However, the article also points out that humor is starting to creep back into advertising, highlighting the stark differences between Google’s Superbowl ads in 2020 and 2023. The 2020 ad shows how Google Assistant helps a man with dementia remember his late wife, while the 2023 commercial highlights Google’s Magic Eraser tool, featuring popstar Doja Cat and comedian Amy Schumer using the tool to remove pooping dogs and photobombers from images.
This shift in advertising strategy not only provides some levity from the seriousness of the past few years, but is also something consumers are responding well to. Unlock Health notes an Oracle study found that funny ads are more memorable, with 90% of audiences being more likely to remember them over other types of ads.
Marnie Hayutin, founder of Writing.Health, sums it up by saying, “After all those ‘unprecedented times’ and ‘we’re here for you’ pandemic years, it’s so nice to see smiles in videos again. And, sometimes in our efforts to be seen as innovators and thought leaders we start to take ourselves and our products too seriously. This trend toward humor is a good reminder to connect with the real person at the other end of our content.”
Updating Processes Based on Consumer Feedback
Brands that listen to their customers and apply feedback to their processes have a greater chance of maintaining customers long-term. In a market where very few products are totally unique, some companies are taking note.
Exact Sciences, whose Cologuard product provides an at-home option for colorectal cancer screening, got feedback from some customers that their packaging was not as discreet as they would like. In response, they made their packaging more simple, with blank panels and a smaller logo, so that it wouldn’t be immediately apparent that the package contained a Cologuard kit.
In a world where patients often have multiple options for their healthcare needs, providing the right brand experience is important. Hearing feedback is one thing, but actually doing something about it is how you create long-term loyalty. If the Cologuard team had ignored customer feedback about their packaging, they likely would have lost customers over time in favor of a competitor who did offer a more discreet option.
Or, even worse, their customers might have skipped the cancer screening process entirely.
Keeping the Patient Experience at the Center of Marketing
A common thread among all of these direct to patient marketing trends is that the patient experience is the primary focus.
Whether it’s about improving the experience during treatment, listening to and applying customer feedback, or simply adding a bit of humor to a healthcare process that might otherwise be nerve-wracking or awkward, medtech companies are really honing in on what patients want and need.
After seeing the past few years of marketing where companies were hesitant to rock the boat, it’s refreshing to see some whimsy and lightness coming back. While the serious tone certainly made sense for the time, we now have the space to step back and shift course.
Michael spends a great deal of time with the healthcare industry both professionally and personally, which gives him the perspective of what stakeholders on either side of the care equation need.
He began coding in 2008 and subsequently shifted his attention entirely to online marketing. Michael completed his MBA in 2018, focusing on the intersection of healthcare and marketing.
As the marketing manager, Ashley ensures that our clients’ marketing strategies are put into action. This includes content writing, SEO, online advertising, analytics, and interfacing with the tools, systems, and team members needed to help our clients accomplish their marketing goals.
