Caroline and Merrett came recommended to Oventus in April 2015 as marketing and communication consultants. Oventus was a fledgling business with three staff aiming to build an Australian brand in the medical device market with an eye on an Initial Public Offering and penetrating international markets.
We needed to build our brand and create general consumer awareness in Australia of our unique sleep device in the lead-up to a public float and Altitude helped us do just that. We honed our marketing and embarked on a media relations campaign around our successful clinical trial results which resulted in a valuable profile on A Current Affair. In just over a year we listed on the ASX, launched a new manufacturing facility in Brisbane and now have almost 40 staff and an internal marketing communication team. Their expertise, flexibility, and responsiveness was first class. Dr Chris Hart, Founder and Clinical Director, Oventus Medical Ltd
The situation – Oventus Medical Ltd
In April 2015, Oventus was a fledgling, start-up business with an innovative invention to treat snoring and sleep apnoea. Developed with the CSIRO, Oventus aimed to launch into the Australian market, float on the stock exchange and establish credibility in the international market within a year. With only three Oventus staff, resources were limited and Altitude quickly became the internal marketing engine room working to build the profile with limited resources and time. To achieve these goals, we identified the following issues:
- the fledgling business had an adhoc and amateur corporate brand and messaging.
- the business had a very limited public and social media profile.
- the business lacked marketing and communication planning to achieve profile results.
Our solution
Altitude was initially engaged to prepare communication for the upcoming IPO but the brief quickly evolved into providing more general marketing and communication advice and assistance. We began by:
- developing a consistent corporate image and style guide
- developing a professionally written and slick looking new website
- preparing key messages, media kit and media relations plan for consumer and business launch
- developing a suite of marketing material for patient and clinician use including a brochure, fact sheets, FAQs, promotional products, training material, and internal branding
- developing a range of direct marketing material to patients, clinicians and investors including e-newsletters, factsheets, and clinical studies reports
- developing and implementing a content marketing strategy through social media channels and establishing and growing Facebook and other social media forums
- implementing new systems to integrate with existing systems including online e-marketing tools, and event management systems
- implementing the media relations plan to engage patients, clinicians and investors
The outcome
In July 2016, Oventus Medical Ltd successfully listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and employed more than 40 staff. Once corporate branding, a new website and other social media channels were established, Caroline and Merrett used the finalisation of clinical trial results to secure media coverage on A Current Affair. This generated unprecedented interest from both patients, clinicians and investors, and set the business on the path to listing. Altitude continued to provide full service marketing and communication services to assist Oventus develop a clinician network in Australia and launch into the US market. As the business rapidly grew, it became clear that Oventus needed an internal marketing team. Altitude assisted Oventus to recruit and train the internal team working today and continues to provide ongoing external assistance as required.