Radiosurgery innovation
Advanced UK cancer treatment
Published: 03 Oct 2011
The Novalis Tx is the latest innovation in radiosurgery.
Client: Brainlab
Agency: Pegasus Public Relations
Campaign: Novalis Tx UK launch: Advanced UK cancer treatment
Timescale: March 2010 to March 2011
A quick look
Radiosurgery pioneers Brainlab commissioned Pegasus to develop a campaign to drive awareness of, and educate clinicians, commissioners and patients on, its world-leading radiosurgery system – the Novalis Tx. A media strategy was orchestrated with military precision, resulting in over 200 media cuttings and >150 million opportunities to see. Coverage was achieved in top-tier target titles and 100% was on-message. Resulting enquiries and a 16% (>1000) increase in hits to the cancer centre website during month of launch demonstrate the impact of the outreach.
Challenge
Radiosurgery has greatest application in patients with difficult-to-treat cancers such as brain tumours. Technological innovation has made great strides in recent years, but the UK lags behind Europe in the standard and accessibility of radiosurgery equipment.
When the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre purchased the latest innovation in this area from radiosurgery pioneers Brainlab – the first hospital in the UK to invest in such advanced technology – Pegasus was brought onboard to make sure this significant milestone was recognised, that referring clinicians knew how to make use of the new facility, and that the benefits of this new and complex technology were understood by a range of stakeholders.
Solution
A full communications channel audit took place to identify the most appropriate means of communicating the news, resulting in a blend of tactics. Alongside a clinical symposium to which national specialist healthcare professionals were invited, a number of articles were secured in the specialist press in the months leading up to the unveiling, in order to build a deeper knowledge of the technology and its applicability in clinical practice. Pegasus also identified two patient advocacy groups as key to brief prior to wider communication, and prepared the groups to answer questions from patients through the provision of succinct information about the treatment. A broader range of patient groups and key specialist media were invited to attend a site tour of the facility in the week before launch.
However, the news was deemed to be of such significance that national media strategies were also developed, alongside a focus on the regional media, who were keen to write about their local cancer centre. The challenge here was creating a vocabulary that told the story accurately, without bamboozling with complex technical language. Key messages were developed using analogies to everyday situations such as ‘sat nav’ to explain how the procedure works; and video footage helped to explain it further for broadcast media. Journalists were also briefed on smaller milestones (eg, installation and build) in order to pre-educate – in particular to clarify confusion between the Novalis Tx and other cancer treatment techniques.
Results
- >200 on-message media cuttings generating >150 million opportunities to see
- Highlights included Sky News and ITV Daybreak, The Times, FT, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, BBC News online, New Scientist and HSJ
- Four key patient groups included information on their websites
- In the first week of launch, Clatterbridge Cancer Centre received 20 enquiries per day re: referrals; and a 16% (>1000) increase in hits to its website during the month of launch compared to previous months
- The launch received positive comments from the NHS National Cancer Action Team.
Client verdict
"This was a tough ask of Pegasus as our technology is highly complex and it can be difficult to get journalists to understand its potential, let alone get accurate message cut-through. However the PR investment made greatly exceeded all our expectations. The team’s strength in media relations – from high-science publications to mainstream broadcast channels – really shone through."
David Brett, Marketing Director for Radiotherapy at Brainlab