ADVERTISING, DISTRIBUTION, & SALES

Known for mechanical valves, St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, MN) was entering an entirely new heart valve segment: tissue valves. In doing so, the company was challenged with the need to combine strong corporate brand awareness with a clear competitive product advantage to effectively compete with manufacturers with longstanding histories in the tissue valve segment.

From listening to cardiac surgeons, the company realized that the competitive advantage of its Biocor valves was clear. Repeatedly, surgeons would pick up the valves and remark, "Just by feeling it, I know it will be easy to implant."

Thus, the company enlisted the help of Yanovick Inc. (Minneapolis) to develop a marketing campaign centered on the idea that "." The print campaign highlighted factors contributing to Biocor's ease of implant.

Yanovick communicated the core message by exploiting the tactile through sensory paper and detailed valve embossing. Both were used to enhance the feel of print advertisements, grabbing the attention of surgeons and simulating the main attraction of the products: their feel.

For the campaign's two-sided launch ad, the valve was presented in actual size, allowing surgeons to appreciate the low-profile features of the valve immediately through the ad. The back of the insert outlined key competitive features of the product.

Following the first quarter of launch, sales of the Biocor valves exceeded all expectations and have continued to grow.

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