A CHANGING MARKETPLACE
Optivus brought PBT to market in 1990 at Loma Linda University Medical Center in southern California. Initially, the industry quietly monitored the work there. But as patient and financial results both proved impressive, the PBT marketplace began to change, significantly, growing by the late 1990s from one manufacturer (Optivus) to seven — several backed by the deep pockets of global parent companies.
A NEW STRATEGY
Optivus turned to Remedy for help developing a new brand strategy that would reposition the brand and reestablish the company as a market leader. In order to beat larger competitors, we saw an opportunity for Optivus to aggressively leverage its proven track record of patient throughput and financial ROI.
INTENSIVE RESEARCH
The first step in our brand development process was comprehensive research to assess the overall PBT market as well as current perceptions of Optivus and key competitors. This phase included intensive primary research — 35 one-on-one interviews with radiation oncologists, medical physicists, hospital administrators, financial and industry analysts, patients, and Optivus staff. Our secondary research included reviews of medical literature on PBT, coverage positions from major insurance carriers, and competitor marketing materials.
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THE BRAND SUMMIT
Our research phase culminated with a daylong brand summit with Optivus stakeholders. Facilitated by senior Remedy staff, the brand summit gave Optivus leadership an opportunity to hear our initial findings from our market assessment and interviews, talk through fundamental issues impacting the future of the brand, and provide input on several potential directions for the new brand positioning.
THE PLAN
Remedy’s final plan to Optivus included the following: analysis of the PBT market size and opportunity, a new positioning platform for the brand, and a comprehensive 12-month marketing plan to reintroduce Optivus to the marketplace and reinvigorate its sales pipeline. Since our engagement, Optivus has begun to implement the recommendations detailed in the plan, and has hired a new VP of sales that will be focused on developing a robust sales function for the organization.
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