by Jodi Amendola | Jun 26, 2024 | Blog
As I look back at two decades of running a successful PR and marketing agency, I can draw two conclusions: Predicting the future is impossible, but preparing for it is a necessity.
That’s not the contradiction it first appears to be. Twenty years ago, it was the dawn of the digital age for healthcare and I was certain there would be an opportunity for an agency devoted to healthcare, health tech and life sciences. I didn’t know with any degree of precision what was coming, but I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
So, I took the leap and founded Amendola. My crystal ball was clear enough to spot an emerging opportunity, but it could not have anticipated everything that would happen in healthcare and health tech over the next two decades: generative AI, machine learning, genetic and precision medicine, telehealth, the shift to value-based care, remote patient monitoring and more.
In all, it’s fair to say the last 20 years have been some of the most exciting and transformative in the history of healthcare. My agency has not only weathered these tumultuous times, but prospered in them.
Amendola is the recognized industry leader in promoting visionary organizations driving technological change across healthcare delivery and life sciences. We have earned billions of media impressions for clients and received numerous awards from industry organizations honoring the firm’s innovative content generation, media relations and marketing programs.
Our success is not due to anticipating every development, but to being prepared for them.
I built the agency around the principles that I value in PR and marketing: creativity, continuous learning, collaboration, and a deep commitment to customer service and delivering results. With those as our bedrock we have been able to meet each new challenge and help our clients find their footing in the new digital landscape.
From early-stage startups to publicly traded companies, Amendola has helped drive company recognition, revenue growth and wider implementation of cutting-edge IT solutions across healthcare delivery organizations, health insurers, pharmacies and numerous other entities. Amendola has also helped clients pivot their messaging and content during changes in healthcare, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic when care delivery began a greater shift from brick-and-mortar institutions to patients’ homes through telehealth and virtual care.
I want to thank the many clients who have hired Amendola multiple times, bringing us with them as they have moved from company to company. Many of them have become friends over the years, which has been an unexpected bonus.
Of course, most of the credit for our success goes to my team. I make a point of hiring only experienced professionals with deep backgrounds in healthcare, health tech and life sciences. They share my principles, are committed to evolving as healthcare does, and their fine work and dedication have allowed the agency to grow and prosper.
A 20th anniversary is a chance not only to reminisce, but to look ahead. And my crystal ball is no more finely tuned than it was when I founded the agency. I don’t know exactly what will happen over the next decade or two; no one does. I will stand by two predictions, however: The years ahead will be at least as exciting and unpredictable as the past 20.
by Grace Vinton | May 1, 2024 | Blog
Sometimes you say what everybody is thinking. And when that happens, the reaction can be tangible and immediate.
I was a member of a panel at the recent HIMSS conference and was talking about misinformation. At one point I observed, “Healthcare has a B2B problem, but it’s not business to business; it’s boring to boring.”
All of a sudden everybody started snapping their fingers. I hadn’t seen this reaction before and asked whether people were trying to get my attention. It was confusing! Someone said, “No, you’re on fire.” It seems they agreed with what I said and wanted me to keep going, but didn’t want to interrupt me by clapping. Hence the snapping.
That interesting cultural moment wasn’t about me, but about an awareness clearly shared by most healthcare PR and marketing professionals: Healthcare technology companies and their buyers are mired in boredom. Boring problems. Boring solutions. Boring conversations.
The sad reality is that both healthcare technology companies and their customers – providers, payers, and third parties – are afraid to express a strong opinion or point of view for fear of losing business opportunities.
We’re all sick of boring. Still, I get it: Clients don’t want to confuse or concern a potential customer by saying something audacious or expressing bold thoughts. Healthcare tech companies want to focus their message on what their product does and the problems it can solve for customers. No point in straying from focused thought leadership.
While I understand the strategic impulse toward boring, companies that want to stand out from their competitors need to get more creative with their messaging without confusing buyers or pigeonholing the company as providing a specific solution to a specific problem. Otherwise they may continue to float anonymously in a sea of boring.
Below are some tips for healthcare marketing and PR pros to help their clients and organizations inject some personality and perspective into their messaging.
Connect on a human level
This is healthcare. By definition, it’s about people; serving people and connecting with people. One of the best ways to connect with people is to tell a compelling story. People love hearing stories and are drawn in by a narrative arc that features a journey with highs and lows, challenges and triumphs, and lessons learned.
Great storytellers are relatable and interesting and thus able to connect with an audience. Their stories create a whole world that provides context, rather than running an audience through a tedious list of specific product features and use cases. To sell your product, tell your story.
Go multimedia
Storytelling is about more than the written word. Audio and video are powerful mediums for healthcare technology companies to tell their stories. Not only do some audience members absorb information more efficiently through multimedia, allowing them to see and hear the people behind a healthcare technology company leverages that human connection we all seek.
Even a great infographic or data visualization provides a multimedia tool that can help you articulate a story and emphasize key points. Audience members have diverse learning styles and digital literacy skills; adding a multimedia element to your message will broaden its reach.
Initiate and be part of a conversation
Rather than just relentlessly pumping out marketing collateral, healthcare technology companies should strive to be thought leaders in their sector. Having a voice in an ongoing conversation establishes credibility and puts a human face on the company. Healthcare is a mission-based career, so advocating for your mission and what you believe in resonates with a like-minded audience. People don’t follow companies; they follow other people with great ideas.
Bylined articles published on respected healthcare websites are a great vehicle for demonstrating sector expertise and thought leadership. When potential buyers think you really “get” their challenges, they’ll remember you and your company.
Social media also provides an excellent platform for conversations and idea exchange. LinkedIn probably is the best for healthcare professionals, though many also actively use X. Healthcare technology leaders also can connect with their community through organizations like HIMSS or CHIME.
Finally, some healthcare technology companies have been successful in using podcasts to tell their stories. Some are even launching their own podcasts to provide another venue for interacting with an audience.
Speak the truth (with humor)
The great comedians find humor in everyday life. They also find humor in the truth. If healthcare technology leaders speak the truth to their audiences and find a way to inject humor into the message, they will stand out from the crowd. Humor that is informed by a deep understanding of the industry and the challenges of a particular sector can be memorable. If your humorous truths support your value proposition, all the better.
Conclusion
Healthcare technology companies that hide in the herd and play it safe get ignored. To rise above the boring noise and get your message across, you need to inject your marketing and PR initiatives with a strong storyline framework that employs passion, humanity, humor, and a distinctive voice. Sincerity sells because it’s real and conveys a compelling message: We’re all in this together.
by Administrator | Apr 23, 2024 | News
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 23, 2024 – Amendola, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare technology and life sciences public relations and marketing firm, today announced that it has been selected to implement a national PR program by Peerbridge Health, developer of a hospital-grade, remote diagnostic and monitoring platform that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) for early detection of heart failure and other conditions.
“Amendola comes highly recommended by healthcare technology peers, giving us confidence that its industry-specific expertise and successful track record will produce valuable results,” said Chris Darland, CEO of Peerbridge Health. “We look forward to working with Amendola to educate the industry on the life-saving potential of early detection of heart failure through AI-enabled remote monitoring technology, which we are able to offer at a significantly lower cost compared to traditional methods.”
More than 6 million Americans live with heart failure, and each year around 1 million new cases are diagnosed in adults 55 years of age and over. Heart failure is the second-leading cause of hospitalization in the U.S. and the leading cause of hospitalization among adults 65 and older.
To reduce the impact of heart failure, Peerbridge Health has developed the Peerbridge Cor™, an AI-enabled, 3-lead, 2-channel wireless ambulatory ECG device. A recent feasibility trial showed the device had a nearly 96% accuracy rate in identifying heart failure in patients utilizing ECG as the only input.
“Heart failure is a serious condition that is often only diagnosed after a visit to the emergency room,” said agency CEO Jodi Amendola. “We are pleased to partner with Peerbridge Health in its efforts to extend access to care, improve outcomes for cardiac patients, and reduce the financial burden of this disease.”
About Amendola
Amendola is an award-winning, insights-driven public relations and marketing firm that integrates media relations, social media, content and lead gen programs to move healthcare, life sciences/pharma and healthcare IT decision-makers to action. The agency represents some of the industry’s best-known brands as well as groundbreaking startups that are disrupting the status quo. Nearly 90% of its client base represents multi-year clients and/or repeat client executives. Amendola’s seasoned team of PR and marketing pros understand the ongoing complexities of the healthcare ecosystem and provide strategic guidance and creative direction to drive positive ROI, boost reputation and increase market share. Making an impact since 2003, Amendola combines traditional and digital media to fuel meaningful and measurable growth. For more information about the industry’s “A-Team,” visit www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Peerbridge Health
Peerbridge Health is revolutionizing cardiac care as the first company to bring the quality and accuracy of hospital-grade cardiac diagnostics to the home. The company’s AI-enabled device, Peerbridge Cor™, includes a three-lead, patented AECG wearable device that features a design based on the Einthoven Triangle. The Peerbridge platform leverages ECG to diagnose and monitor the most important elements of cardiac care at a lower cost than ever before. Data captured provides actionable insights that promote early invention, reduce hospital visits and saves lives. For more, go to peerbridgehealth.com or visit our LinkedIn page.
Media Contact:
Marcia G. Rhodes, mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com
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by Maria Meredith | Dec 6, 2023 | Blog
As an agency that works exclusively with healthcare, health IT and life sciences companies, this is a startling stat: U.S. hospitals waste over $12 billion annually as a result of communication inefficiency among care providers. Helping our clients succeed with clear, consistent communication is in our DNA for good reason.
Working with our clients as they seek to communicate clearly with their target audiences across the healthcare industry, the old marketing “Rule of Seven” still applies. Basically, this rule states that it takes an average of seven interactions with your brand before a prospect will take action, which in the B2B world may be to commit to a meeting. That’s why integrated marketing programs designed to communicate across multiple channels are so important in today’s noisy, cluttered media landscape. Here are several considerations to develop effective campaigns that deliver on the Rule of Seven.
Set clear, measurable campaign objectives
Always start with a clear understanding of who you want to target, what action you want them to take, and what information they need to understand how you can meet their immediate need. A common mistake is not segmenting the target audience into personas with specific needs that are met by your solution or service. Rather, it’s most effective to develop a strong value proposition for each persona and deliver your message through focused campaigns.
In addition, identify key performance metrics right up front for every campaign. With an eye to the objectives, how will you measure success – webpage visits, landing page conversions, meetings scheduled? Be sure to set a baseline and target results. As the campaign progresses, use the metrics to guide adjustments to continuously improve performance.
Create compelling content
In today’s content-rich environment, it’s vital to tell a coherent story about how you meet the needs of your target personas across all your channels, from your website to social media to thought leadership to campaign content and sales enablement assets. By first understanding the type and depth of information each persona needs at each step in the buying process, you can identify what content will be most effective for each campaign.
Offering a mix of content is an important aspect of the Rule of Seven. Different people within your target audience will respond best to different types of content. Some focus on short-form content such as social media posts, infographics and videos. Others prefer long-form content, such as articles, eBooks and white papers. Long-form content can always be repurposed into short-form content, which more effectively uses resources while delivering consistent messaging. Overall, it’s important to deliver a mix that consistently drives them toward the final call to action.
Extend reach across multiple channels
Every integrated marketing campaign should leverage as many channels as possible to meet target audiences where they are – your website, social media, outbound email, digital advertising, search, events and tradeshows. And as highlighted above, use a mix of short-form and long-form, written and video to reach your audience. Pay particular attention to how to make content pop visually for each channel – over 50% of marketers agree that visual content is essential to their marketing strategy, leading to more engagement from audiences.
Align media relations and thought leadership efforts
It’s also important to create crossover between focused campaigns and proactive media relations and thought leadership programs. Published articles make valuable assets to incorporate in campaigns. By creating pitches that address the needs of journalists while connecting with the key messages for your target personas, you leverage another important channel for reaching your audience.
Integrated marketing programs that communicate across multiple channels using compelling content help rise above the noise and connect with your audience in ways that deliver results. With the Rule of Seven in mind, marketers can create meaningful brand interactions that show how your solutions meet the needs of your prospects, making them more apt to take the next step toward purchasing your solution.
by Jessica Smith | Mar 2, 2022 | Blog
Recently, I was listening to a podcast featuring the CEO of a healthcare tech company that’s doing fantastic things in a new way—an actual innovator, as much as that word is overused. The podcast wasn’t sponsored, so the line of questioning was broad and geared toward thought leadership. In response to the host’s first question, the CEO launched into a detailed explanation of the issues with just a quick “At [Company Name], we deal with [thorny topic] all the time, starting with A and B.”
The rest of the conversation bounced around from there, and it was a decent interview overall, except for one thing: I never found out what the CEO’s company did, exactly. I agreed with many of his sentiments about the industry and was already predisposed to think highly of his company, but the onus fell on me, the listener, to search online for more info. That CEO had one shot to make a first impression, but he failed to take advantage of it: he didn’t introduce his own brand.
As an account director, I see clients fail to effectively communicate their corporate message. When prepping for an interview, clients tend to focus on which successes to share. They talk about how to answer tricky questions that might come up, and discuss whether a data point from Client 1 or Client 2 would be best. But they don’t focus on the messaging basics: how to say what you do as efficiently as possible, in a variety of settings. Your leaders need to agree on the language they’ll use to give a quick introduction, and they need to practice this phrasing until it becomes second nature.
When I was listening to that podcast, if I had heard something like this: “At [Company Name], we provide [innovative feature] to [type of customers] to help them [accomplish this result]” before the CEO continued with “So we deal with [thorny topic] all the time…” I would have had a context for all the insightful things Mr. CEO said from then on. I would have been properly introduced to the company, grounded in what they provide to a particular market.
You Need More Pitches Than You Think You Do
At large companies, marketing departments will hammer out corporate messaging templates with several components: the top 3 bullets that describe the company’s accomplishments; the 25-word elevator pitch; the 50-word elevator pitch; the 100-word boilerplate; the corporate mission; the list of values. Smaller companies, being nimbler and more mission-driven, tend to think of such messaging docs as unnecessary—and completely disconnected from what their leaders will say to the press.
They’re not. Just as all companies must determine their market positioning, they must also determine their specific language: how will we introduce ourselves? Your company’s oral and written messaging needs to include both features and benefits. What do you make/provide/enable for customers, and how does that feature benefit them?
Once you’ve got your messaging down, you need to spend time iterating it in multiple formats. Contrary to popular belief, the best 25-word intro to your company is not the first sentence of your “About Us” page on your website. Be thoughtful about each version, and note who it’s for: 50 words to describe us to investors; 5 bullets to include on slides for existing customers; 3 key messages for trade shows; etc. This legwork will pay off in spades as you apply for awards, send reporters background information, complete RFIs, connect with potential clients, and more.
Lastly, don’t forget to train your leaders in the verbal version of your messaging for conversations and interviews. While it doesn’t need to be exact every time, you should certainly have at least one or two phrases that are consistently said aloud by your executive leadership.
Revamping Your Boilerplate
Found at the bottom of all press releases, a company’s boilerplate is a standardized paragraph that describes the organization’s purpose, size, and presence. It often includes details such as the year the company was founded, its annual revenue and/or financial backers, and market share or angle. Your boilerplate should also incorporate a few key words—or even better, a unique phrase—to enable search engine optimization.
Unfortunately, many companies write their boilerplate once and then forget to refine it as their messaging evolves. Along with your messaging, you should review your boilerplate at least once a year. Does it reflect where you are now? If your key phrases aren’t getting any traction, but your customers all respond enthusiastically to one specific value prop, consider the SEO version of that value prop. Will it work in your boilerplate? Is it clear and meaningful, or did you accidentally jargonize it?
While this is not an exhaustive how-to post about how to write an excellent company boilerplate—for that, see this post from PR expert Dmitry Dragilev—I do have a few tips for you.
#1: Don’t be aspirational.
If your company makes teapots, but your five-year plan involves the creation of compostable coffee, tea, and mimosa single-serve pods, you’re not an “major vendor in the eco-friendly breakfast beverage supply chain”; you’re still a teapot manufacturer.
Startups in particular are frequently tempted to include their overarching vision in their boilerplate, as they can’t yet do what they mean to do – and they want everyone to know the scope of their ambition. While this is understandable, companies run the risk of undermining their own success if they stake their reputation on future-state aspirations. Potential clients may simply want a beautiful teapot; they need to know that your company makes them.
Don’t let your excitement about what your company will eventually do overcome reality; market what you have now, and market it well. If you’re afraid that your company will be discounted because everyone’s talking about single-serve beverages, then find a way to incorporate your proximity to the Hot Topic without overselling what your company does in the present moment.
(Apologies to the Ask a Manager readership for the teapot analogy. This site answers reader questions on workplace dilemmas, and it’s well worth your time: the letters are often hilarious, and writer Alison Green gives useful advice for navigating difficult work situations.)
#2: Keep it modest.
This is not the time for verbs like ‘transform’ or ‘revolutionize,’ nor for adjectives like ‘impressive’ or ‘powerful.’ Your boilerplate should state what you do and why you do it, but not offer its own opinions on how well you do it. We don’t include self-referential compliments when we’re introducing ourselves for a reason. While you may call yourself “adept” in a cover letter, you don’t say it in conversation; your boilerplate should not be the corporate version of “I’m Jessica, a skillful communicator!”
You should also stay away from superlative phrases like “the industry’s leading platform” or “the world’s largest system,” especially if you’re relatively unknown. Even if your software has twice as many users as your closest competitors, comparative phrases invite readers to respond with skepticism. There should be nothing in your boilerplate that is arguable; your statements should be clear, simple, and unassailable.
If you work for Amazon, then sure, you could say you’re the world’s largest online retailer—but readers would know that already. For everyone else, it just sounds like a humble brag that may or may not be true. If you want to show size or range, opt for facts instead: “used by 65% of U.S. health systems” is more believable than “the industry’s leading platform.” If you’ve won a prestigious award, make sure to include it in your boilerplate. Let others do your bragging for you!
#3: Avoid nonsense taglines.
My husband’s favorite tagline of all time was for the beer Stella Artois: “Reassuringly expensive.” For 25 years, the company used this phrase in television and print ads in the U.K., where it hit just the right note: this beer tastes so much better than its low-end counterparts that it’s not even in the same category—nor are you, discerning drinker!
In corporate America, and especially in healthcare, there’s a tendency to choose random inspirational words for your tagline. Often these aren’t even connected to what the company does, but just a collection of positive qualities or actions: “Collaborate. Innovate. Accelerate.” Taglines should be clear, practical, and instantly relatable to what your business does, according to this advice from entrepreneurs.
In healthcare, I’ve seen many variations along the lines of “We move care forward” or “We put the care in healthcare.” Avoid stating the obvious (nobody moves care backward), and avoid being cheesy. Your tagline requires real thought and a sense of what sets your company apart from competitors. This is where you can get creative and evoke your company’s higher aspirations (as long as they relate to what you do now). Where do you want to be in ten years? What mission connects your present and your future?
You won’t be able to encapsulate every last thing that you do in one tagline, but you should be able to come up with an evocative phrase that distinguishes your approach. Don’t be afraid to test it out across your company, or ask your employees for help brainstorming. Once you have a good tagline, use it to close out your boilerplate, along with a link to your website. Now, you’re ready for prime time: You have everything you need to make a good impression.
