Case study: reinforcing KCI’s leadership credentials with a brand campaign

Location

United States

Sector

Medical device

Service

Branding & communications

Background

KCI is a multinational company producing medical technology for the healing of wounds. 30 years ago KCI produced the first product developed specifically to deliver negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). Since then it has evolved the technology to work across numerous products for different applications in both the acute and post-acute settings (from the hospital, to the wound-care centre, to the patient’s home). The company is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas and markets its products in more than 25 countries. KCI and its sister companies LifeCell and Systagenix operate under the Acelity brand.

The brief

UP was asked to refresh the positioning of KCI’s already famous V.A.C.® Therapy NPWT System. ‘VAC’ has become a generic term for every brand of NPWT device across the industry and KCI needed to set itself apart in order to maintain its leadership status. The company wanted to target surgeon, nurse and buyer audiences, highlighting the unique SensaT.R.A.C.™ technology, a key differentiator of V.A.C.® Therapy devices.

The campaign had to show that not all NPWT devices are the same and make the audience question the performance of competitive products.

The solution

For this campaign we held a working session where we agreed on the brief and learned about the product and technology. We also dove into the vast amount of clinical and scientific published evidence that supported the use of V.A.C.® Therapy. We needed to make the audience aware of SensaT.R.A.C.™ technology by:

Introducing the idea that not all NPWT devices are the same
Explaining the benefits of SensaT.R.A.C.TM multi lumen technology
Illustrating how the controlled delivery of NPWT with V.A.C.® and SensaT.R.A.C. leads to lower risk of downstream complications and costs
Positioning SensaT.R.A.C. under the ‘One Acelity’ umbrella, and in turn, introducing the wider Acelity portfolio of products to the customer

Our creative brief culminated in the core strategic thought: ‘Purging the pretenders’. This looked to challenge the competition, while highlighting the core message that not all NPWT devices are the same. This was rolled out through a range of communications including a short animated film to demonstrate how the technology works. We supported this with a core product sales brochure and a range of print advertising featuring beautifully created 3D technical imagery.