The Roles of Medtech Marketing

EDITOR'S PAGE

In the medical device industry, the field of marketing covers a range of activities conducted for a variety of purposes. To scratch the surface, company marketers may be tasked with developing training tools for salespeople, patient-education materials, advertising directed toward healthcare professionals or consumers, or training materials for professional users—and any or all of these may need to be created in print, digital, online, or event formats.

Perhaps it is the diversity of such activities that has created the impression that medtech companies don't do much in the way of marketing. Materials created with such a specific target population in mind—that is, patients whose conditions can benefit from medical device therapies and the professionals who use those devices—arguably don't attract much attention among broader audiences.

But even a glance at this issue's article honoring the medical device winners in the 2006 International Awards of Excellence (In-Awe) competition sponsored by the Medical Marketing Association (San Francisco) should lay to rest any question about the marketing activities of medtech companies.

Marketing may also play a role in educating consumers about the benefits of advanced medical technologies. At the end of August, Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis) announced that it was initiating a $100 million marketing and public relations campaign to rebuild the market for implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), which has suffered from lower consumer confidence since a spate of recalls hit the sector last year.

And it isn't only individual companies that see the need for marketing. Industry association AdvaMed (Washington, DC) recently launched a $1 million education and advertising campaign designed to convey the value of medical technology to policymakers and the general public. Whether it is building product awareness, announcing the benefits of new technologies, or supporting industry, medtech marketing is big news.

Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't been paying attention.

Copyright ©2006 MX