Reaching ears VIA HEARTSTRINGS
Sometimes a single insight is all it takes to transform an entire business. For Bay Audiology it was the realisation that families are divided by hearing loss and that audio technology can be the thing that brings them back together.
The challenge
Kiwis are known the world over for their stoic attitude. While that might be helpful in creating a national identity, it’s not so great when you’re looking to help Kiwis suffering from hearing loss.
That fact, not to mention the perception that ‘ hearing aids are for old people’, stood between Bay Audiology and its future plans. In order to open up new audiences, it decided on a r esearchdriven approach looking for insights that could create personal and emotional connections with the topic.
Qualitative groups painted a telling story of emotional distance, that hearing loss was a burden and sufferers missed moments of laughter or intimacy.
A new narrative had to be created to reach an audience who could well be denying they even have a problem. From there came an epiphany that changed everything.
Simply put, it was about focusing on people, not patients.
The response
While the initial task was to create motivation to book an appointment to create real business value, Bay Audiology would have to lift the emotional quotient to a point that put the cost in perspective against the value of the individual’s wellbeing and those around them.
At the heart of the marketing programme was a series of pre-recorded unscripted messages from the spouses and children of people who suffer hearing loss. These sufferers were then cajoled into having a hearing test in which they listened to the messages while hidden cameras recorded their reactions.
People watched online and on TV and recognised themselves and their loved ones in the st ories created, sparking honest conversations about the e ffects of hearing loss on their family.
The results
The campaign created an immediate and measurable response from people whose defining health issue made it difficult f or them to respond to their loved ones, let alone marketing messages.
Post analysis showed 40 percent of viewers took some direct action on seeing the activity, making an immediate impact through web and 0800 channels. Qualified calls to the 0800 number increased by 29 percent against the previous four month campaign period and Bay Audiology enjoyed month-on-month growth of between 10 percent and 36 percent.
All of this translated into sales, with the company enjoying its biggest month on record in March 2017.
“We turned emotion into action. Love for one’s family and friends is the most powerful marketing asset we have,” says the company.
“The results were immediate, and the gains will be long t erm.”
Love for one’s family and friends is the most powerful marketing asset we have.