"As we looked to launch our Pillar Procedure as a treatment for sleep apnea, we positioned public relations as the most significant piece of our overall marketing strategy. LP&P's careful planning and creativity combined with their aggressive approach with the media enabled us to far exceed our company's sales goals – and the momentum continues."
John Foster, Former Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Restore Medical

Case Studies

Restore Medical, Inc.
Reaching New Heights: Balancing Exposure and Hype

The Challenge:

In May 2004, Restore Medical, a privately-held medical device company that develops and markets treatments for sleep and breathing disorders, approached LP&P to help the company introduce its existing medical device – the Pillar Procedure – to a new, more significant marketplace . Restore Medical had been marketing its Pillar Procedure for the treatment of socially disruptive snoring since 2003. While bothersome, socially disruptive snoring is not perceived to be a major medical condition. LP&P’s challenge was to position the company and its solution for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a life-threatening condition that causes people to stop breathing during sleep. This was important for many reasons including the need to establish Restore Medical as a “serious” medical device company and to position its treatment for potential medical reimbursement.

Aiding LP&P in its efforts, Restore Medical was on the verge of receiving clearance by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to market the Pillar Procedure for the treatment of OSA. The key differentiator for Restore Medical was the fact that the Pillar Procedure was “the first FDA-cleared implantable treatment for OSA.” However, well-entrenched treatment options were numerous, including surgical procedures such as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) and laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP), Radiofrequency (RF) treatments, and life-long therapy approaches such as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), which was well known and viewed as the most effective treatment on the market.

Finally, as a conscientious company, Restore Medical wanted to be assured that any public relations program was implemented with the understanding that many existing approaches had “over promised and under delivered,” causing physicians and patients, as well as the media, to be skeptical of new treatments. LP&P realized a need to create excitement in the media and educate the public on sleep apnea, while trying to balance the hype.

The LP&P Difference:

LP&P addressed this challenge by creating an outreach strategy tailored to meet Restore Medical’s needs and business objective to become the sleep and breathing resource to the ENT (ear, nose, throat) market. LP&P worked with Restore Medical to develop a messaging strategy that would call attention to Restore Medical’s unique medical design and approach combined with a media strategy that would create a sense of “innovation and legitimacy” by first targeting premier media outlets and then support a broad mass-media campaign designed to reach both physicians and prospective patients.

Despite the fact that Restore Medical had received clearance to market the company’s Pillar Procedure for OSA in early August, LP&P recommended that Restore Medical delay the public announcement until early September in order to leverage building interest in sleep apnea heading into the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO Expo taking place on September 20, 2004 in New York City. This would allow Restore Medical to avoid the “media apathy” typical during the Summer months, eliminate the “paralysis” factor that the Labor Day holiday typically induces in a campaign and leverage larger industry momentum.

In order to avoid competing with other “noise” at the event, LP&P timed the launch to take place the week leading into AAO-HNSF. Based on the goals of elevating the reputation of Restore Medical and leveraging the location of the event, LP&P chose to offer an exclusive to the Wall Street Journal, specifically targeting the Personal Journal section of the paper. This would accomplish the goal of securing coverage in an elite publication typically read by working professionals and physicians while placing it within a portion of the publication – Health - tailored to consumers interested in health issues. It would also serve as an endorsement, which could be leveraged to entice other media outlets to cover the news. LP&P was able to secure the exclusive with the Wall Street Journal by leveraging relationships while educating the reporter on the increasing public focus on the study of sleep disorders, the health issues related to OSA, Restore Medical’s unique “implant” approach and the timeliness of the news. Additionally, LP&P was able to secure “real-estate” in the publication by offering illustrations and treatment comparison charts which were referenced by WSJ staffers in creation of the artwork.

Concurrent with securing the agreement with the Wall Street Journal, LP&P secured interest from elite broadcast outlets including Good Morning America and CNN.

With the upper echelon of media secured, LP&P also had put in place a complete Video News Release (VNR) program designed to offer a “packaged” story to major television stations throughout the United States. The VNR included physician and patient testimonials, animation of the procedure and b-roll of alternative treatment options.

Enablement:

LP&P was involved in nearly every aspect of the launch including:

  • Press Kit – LP&P developed key materials including a Restore Medical Corporate Backgrounder, Fact Sheet, Frequent Asked Questions, and two press releases – the first focusing on Restore Medical receiving FDA clearance and a second release focusing on clinical research on the Pillar Procedure being presented at the AAO-HNF annual meeting.
  • Video News Release development – LP&P representatives selected the VNR production house, worked with VNR representatives to develop the script, assisted in securing physicians and patients featured in the release, and helped to develop the media alert used by the production house to alert broadcast stations of the satellite feed times.
  • Doctor and patient screening – LP&P interviewed and screened physicians and patients in order to be able to offer references and testimonials that could be featured in the VNR as well as in national and regional broadcast and print coverage.
  • Market research and association partnership – LP&P conducted research that would be leveraged in press and marketing materials that verified the growing concerns and impact of OSA on the general population. In addition, LP&P contacted the American Sleep Apnea Association to secure a third-party quote for the launch press release, validating the Pillar Procedure as a viable treatment option for mild to moderate OSA.

The Results:

As a result of this aggressive outreach campaign, LP&P had a direct impact on developing sales leads for Restore Medical and expanding the overall visibility of the company and the Pillar Procedure.

The Pillar Procedure was viewed by the media as an effective first-line treatment of mild to moderate OSA. LP&P secured on-message coverage in national print, online, and broadcast outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, WebMD, and Reuters resulting in more than 200 million impressions. Additionally, LP&P secured broadcast and print coverage in top regional markets such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, and Dallas, further broadening exposure. As a result of the strong publicity that LP&P garnered for the Pillar Procedure leading up to the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting, the procedure was considered to be the highlight of the event. PR-related results include:

  • Garnered High-Profile, On-Message Coverage – LP&P secured more than 85 broadcast hits in outlets like Good Morning America and CNN Headline News for an audience reach of more than 14 million. In addition, more than 45 print and online stories appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, WebMD and for an audience reach of more than 210 million. In fact, the article on the Pillar Procedure made The Wall Street Journal’s most emailed list on the day it appeared.
  • Generated Sales Activity for Restore Medical – In less than one week, Restore Medical received more than 200 patient leads and more than 150 new physician leads. Restore Medical also generated a record number of sales for the month following the launch, with 50% of sales resulting from new physicians.
  • Created Overall Awareness of the Pillar Procedure – Restore Medical experienced more than 1,000 hits on its website on the day of the launch versus an average of 750 hits per month. In addition, the American Sleep Apnea Association created a dedicated “Pillar Procedure Q&A” page on their Web site due to an overwhelming volume of hits and inquiries since the launch. The Pillar Procedure was also considered to be the highlight at the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting in New York City.