Project brief: Boston Scientific came to Olson in early 2010 with the following challenge: the company was merging three disparate business units—cardiac, rhythm and vascular (CRV)—in order to create a holistic cardiovascular delivery channel that would better meet the changing needs of medical-device consumers. The move was potentially difficult to engineer internally and tough to explain externally. Approach: We developed a cohesive multilevel campaign for the new entity—Boston Scientific CRV—that centered on the mantra “Defining tomorrow, today.” After assembling a team of design, copy and health-care experts, we turned around an employee-awareness campaign that culminated in a company-wide convention in August 2010. We then expanded the campaign to physicians, hospital buyers and other allied health professionals with brand-new collateral due by fall.

Effectiveness: Boston Scientific originally contracted with Olson to handle only the consolidation and conversion to CRV. But very quickly, we formed a trusting relationship with the client and began handling their product, campaign and internal communications as well. The CRV campaign has helped our clients maintain market share and increase their reputation as a forward-thinking company. We’ve engaged key people within the organization and, moreover, we’ve helped our clients be proud of their brand.

With the Boston Scientific CRV work, Olson has taken two huge steps forward: we’ve become, essentially, the agency of record for a large medical-device manufacturer—our first such client but certainly not our last. We’ve also undertaken a major initiative with the iPad, using it as a flexible tool for sales and education. We’re reducing waste and traditional costs for printing and distributing while designing collateral that gives our clients a sophisticated yet functional edge. We knew our relationship with Boston Scientific was confirmed when they chose Olson over a digital-media agency to handle all their iPad and related web-based work.

In the end, we consider this campaign to be successful because it did exactly what we promised and what we planned. It’s beautiful and stylish. It’s also honest, informative and smart. We’ve raised our clients’ credibility in the marketplace and simultaneously raised our own.

This piece of the campaign took poor-quality video of focus groups and used it to make a great, polished microsite. Shed light on the process, which was refreshing. Showed human voices and human faces rather than statistics. Intimate and humanizing. It takes good design to make this work.

Raised credibility and transparency. Reflects the intimacy of product and company. Great design and “non-slick” content.