Advertising to Surgeons
How do you get the attention of busy, jaded general surgeons who will readily tell you "I never look at the ads"?
The challenge was especially difficult for the pioneering IV calorie-source Intralipid
when the FDA gave marketing approval to a competitive lipid emulsion made from less costly safflower oil, rather
than the genetically special soybeans from which Intralipid is formulated.
ProClinica's technique on behalf of Intralipid was simple: Link the product's
features to the quality of products surgeons respected and personally paid extra for: Fine wines and cameras.
One of the surgical journals ran a study of its advertising the first month the
Intralipid "wine" ad ran -- and reported a whopping 64% recall!
ProClinica tied the borrowed-interest Leica ad to direct mail promotion
of a photo contest at an upcoming American College of Surgeons meeting. Doctors were invited to submit slides or prints
to an independent panel of top photographers and photo magazine journals. All entries were shown at the ACS
exhibit, where the first-prize winners were awarded their choice of an SLR or rangefinder Leica!
