Blog Archive

You're launching a new medical product... - Mar 26, 2009 10:34AM - By: Joe DuBord

You’ve been asked to lead a marketing initiative on the launch of a new medical product. Now what?

You will need to provide tools for the sales force to educate physicians or medical professionals on the features and benefits of this new product. You are considering an animation, a surgical technique video, a PowerPoint presentation, some sell sheets and you will need to include product information on your company’s website. Ok, that seems easy enough… right?

First let’s step back and consider these "top 10 suggestions"

Start by writing down your primary goal for this initiative, for example - To educate, inform and create interest in ______ product.

Now identify the key objectives to meet your goal. For example, assemble a team to help identify strategies, identify exact materials needed for the product launch, identify timelines and assign individual responsibilities.

Other considerations: what do you want your audience to know about the product? What is the audience current knowledge of the product? What do you want the audience to do after they review these materials? How will the message be delivered? What is your launch date? What is your budget?

You should also have a clear understanding of your target audience. Is your target audience only surgeons? It could be investors, the sales reps themselves, hospital administrators, operating room personnel or other medical professionals, etc.

Write down the features and benefits of this product ie: ease of use, aerodynamic feel, minimally invasive approach, superior results, less recovery time, etc.

Considering a product demonstration animation? Are there CAD files available for the product to help in the creation of the “3D” computer animation? Does the product need to be demonstrated in the body? Put together a step-by-step outline of the animation steps to provide to the production company to achieve an accurate bid.

For the surgical technique video – Is there a product “champion” surgeon available? Is this person local, will this person look good on camera, speak confidently about your product, willing to be videotaped “live” in surgery, or sit down and be interviewed about the product? If so create a list of questions to ask which will draw out the responses you are looking for.

You may want to consider an interactive CD-Rom or DVD, which can hold a variety of media (video, animation, photography, charts and graphs, white papers, etc.). This medium will allow the user to select the portion of the information that is most important to them or their customer.

Think about what could be leveraged from one medium to the other - for example: Stills from the animation could also be used as trade show graphics or used in product brochures or used on the company’s website. The animation or surgical technique video could be converted and used in a playlist on the sales rep’s Blackberry or iPhone.

There are many production companies that provide these types of services. Look for one with experience and knowledge within the medical field. Interview each company and review samples of their work. Inquire what they are able to do in-house and which services they farm out. Ask for references and call each one with a list of questions including how easy they were to work with, did they fully understand your needs without to much handholding and did they meet the identified timeline.

By taking this information into account you will be better prepared and organized as you prepare your media assets for your product launch.

Surgical Video Strategies - Mar 17, 2009 8:36AM - By: Brian Hagen

Creating surgical technique videos are some of the most challenging productions we do at Meditech. There are some basic strategies we use to help ensure a good result. First, plan for the shot. The surgeon must understand what we are trying to capture, how we intend to get the shot, and what they can do to assist in the process. The operating room is a limiting production environment with strict protocols and sterile field restrictions. The camera requires a line-of-sight to get the shot; unfortunately we share that line of sight with the surgeon. By talking to the surgeon about the best vantage point they become aware of camera placement and how they will eventually either help or interfere with the shot. Having a monitor available so the surgeon can see what we are recording is also a big help.

Secondly, choose the right tool for the job. Many times, like in orthopedic procedures, we can shoot from a standard tripod to capture the images. Other procedures, like heart surgery, require using specialized tools to get the critical shot. Our overhead jib-arm camera set-up with remote control operation provides great vantage points. The remote control allows pan, tilt, zoom, and focus to shoot around most obstacles without infringing on the sterile field. When the surgeon eventually blocks the shot, our head-camera with integrated headlight provides an effective supplementary view. Head-cams provide a great vantage point but because the surgeon frequently glances away from the surgical site it is not a singular solution. Combining with the head-cam with the jib or tripod mounted camera works great.

Third, understand the end result. Most surgical procedures are edited to down to the most critical steps. An hour-long heart bypass procedure will eventually be cut to under 10-minutes. Knowing how the surgical footage will be combined with medical imaging is important as well. In cardiac catheterization, radiology or electrophysiology labs, seeing the fluoroscopy is many times more important than seeing what the physician is doing outside the body. By planning ahead we know when to capture the corresponding fluoroscopy either through the hospital’s imaging equipment or with our gear. Then during editing we can use picture-in-picture to best demonstrate the case.

A lot of unexpected things can happen during a surgical procedure; most of which are outside of our control. We understand that patient care always takes priority over video production and act accordingly. These simple strategies outlined above are the first steps toward ensuring a good end result. We then move onto the more advanced strategies of navigating the control desk, befriending the charge nurse, sharing space with the surgical tech and directing the physician during the case.

Design Soup - Mar 04, 2009 12:47PM - By: Chad Halvorson

What kind are you making?

I'm pretty into analogies. Especially when trying to communicate technical situations, but recently I've been thinking about design and creative work. I think I've found my analogy—words to live by in my opinion.

Design is like cooking. As designers, we try to come up with new flavors by trying different ingredients. The best dishes are created by combining ingredients—with an end result in mind about how it should taste. Here are a couple of soup analogies that I think put things in a nice perspective.

Sometimes the customer knows what kind of soup they want. The customer may taste the soup and send it back because its to spicy or bland for their taste. It's important to consider their tastes and adapt the dish to respect their pallet—in the end if they don't like it, that soup is going in the trash.

Some customers don't know what they're in the mood for or they want the chef to create a dish that reflects the tastes and perspectives of the restaurant. That's why people choose the restaurants they do—because the food has a certain flavor they like.

The servers and other people wandering around the kitchen should be less inclined to toss ingredients in or make judgment before the soup has had time to simmer. If the cook wants someone to taste the soup before serving, they will ask. The sous chef and chef de cuisine are working hard on preparing these dishes—let them finish the dish before tasting it.