Sailing uncharted waters can be exhilarating and rewarding – although some may find it safer to pull out the GPS and not drift to far from paths already mapped. Making your own way can be risky, so it may be worth your time to make sure that the legwork hasn’t already been done for you.
 
Case in point: DTC, or direct-to-consumer advertising. For many medical device marketers, this is an alluring yet precarious strategy to consider. Medical device as an industry is still in its adolescence compared to mature Pharma. But it helps to keep in mind that although you may feel like a pioneer, Pharma’s been there. Pharma’s had many a success and many a fall along the way, so there is a rich amount of learning to be had to make the most of a potential endeavor before you even start. In other words, learn from their mistakes.
 
So what can we learn from them? Well big budgets help, but they aren’t always necessary. Targeting Oprah’s viewership with fat broadcast media flights isn’t the only option. Have you identified a small target population with a chronic condition in need of a solution that they spend hours searching for online? Why waste precious advertising dollars shouting to them when they’re watching American Idol to forget their worries, when your device can appear right before their eyes at the moment they are actively seeking the answer to their prayers... a solution that your device may be able to bring them. Let them Google their disease and see your message when they are most apt to read it. Pharma’s already mastered the art of Search Engine Marketing, and you can, too. Targeted? You bet. Efficient use of marketing dollars? Heck yes. Not everyone has the luxury of a Pfizer budget.
 
What else can we learn from Big Brother Pharma? Well, spending smarter is easy to swallow, but how about checking your ego at the door? What if I said, “Stop using your logo.”? (gasp!) Another highly successful and emerging trend in DTC involves detaching the brand from the message. Who among us consumers aren’t a little wary of Madison Avenue? The less sales-y, the more credible. Makes sense, right? Create a site totally devoted to the problem your device solves (and don’t forget to drive traffic to it). Offer a robust resource for patients to learn about their disease and symptoms. Give them a place to talk to other patients just like themselves. Offer them a platform to hear specialists provide answers. Then at some point you can redirect them towards your brand elsewhere online, once they’re engaged. Then you’ll start to reap the rewards. Build a community, build a relationship, build a brand loyalist.
 
So just remember, device marketers, the course has already been charted. No need to redraw the map, just put up your sails and sell.