Dialysis no longer defines you

  • Capabilities
  • Media Strategy & Management, B2C Marketing

The Backstory

As nearly 500,000 Americans know, life on dialysis stinks. There are severe restrictions on what (and how much) you can eat. Or drink. And treatment normally means four hours hooked into a refrigerator-sized machine in a chilly, antiseptic room. If that sounds bad enough, don’t forget the eight (or more) hours spent lying in bed afterward because that’s all you can handle. And now imagine doing it three times a week. It’s no wonder most dialysis patients don’t feel well enough to work, or even make it to important family events.

Let’s talk results

If you like what we did for NXSTAGE it’s time to talk about what we can do for you.

The Change

NxStage reinvented the dialysis experience with a hemodialysis machine so small and user-friendly that almost anyone can handle dialysis on their own – at home. Even better, getting people out of the dialysis center opens the door to more frequent dialysis, which more closely mimics the function of healthy kidneys. And that helps them feel better faster, for longer, so they can reclaim their lives.

But before anyone could reclaim anything, NxStage had to upend 40 years of convention and entrenched competitors with a vested interest in the status quo. That’s why NxStage Kidney Care contacted PJA.

NxStage Kidney Care already had the simple, friendly machine. And warm, inviting training centers. What they didn’t have was a cross-platform B2B2C marketing campaign targeting self-directed patients with private insurance – and a willingness to start a difficult conversation with their doctor about this new model for home-based dialysis.

The solution was a carefully crafted blend of message and medium. Dialysis No Longer Defines You served as the clarion call to frustrated patients hungering for the freedom they used to know. And we reached them where we knew they would be: near nephrologists’ offices and dialysis centers.

Transit ads with short code SMS, billboards with a trackable URL, paid search, geo-targeted mobile advertising, and display advertising on health websites all drove prospective patients to a robust landing experience where they could sign up for more information, or even request a visit to a NxStage training center.

And once prospective patients expressed interest, we followed up with a nurture campaign that provided more clinical proof that NxStage’s style of treatment works – along with more reasons to switch.

The Results

This campaign is a perfect example of our prototype-and-test philosophy. We launched a pilot targeting patients around two new training centers in the Boston area. By systematically testing different creative executions, CTAs, and media placements, we were able to find the most effective combination to drive awareness and interest.

By the end of the pilot, more than 10% of visitors to the site signed up to be patients – more than enough for NxStage to break even on both locations. Given the realities of kidney disease, converting just one patient makes a huge difference that lasts a lifetime. NxStage continues to apply the lessons of this campaign across the country.

5.2X
ROI
on marketing program

36%
OF SITE VISITORS
became MQLs

>10%
OF VISITORS
became patients

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