Through our work in healthcare, we met an orthodontist at a private practice in urban Texas. Like many orthodontists he was committed to improving oral health by providing high-quality care and outstanding service and making it affordable for the families he served. In building his practice, he approached Woolston Inventive about applying the principles of “Everyone Smarter” marketing to reach more people.
First, we explored the knowledge gap in the market. The primary service of an orthodontist is braces. This means that, in general, patients are teens and pre-teens who have already lost all of their baby teeth. It is typically around age 12 that the permanent teeth have arrived. Often, however, when orthodontists see teens for the first time at THIS point, there are dental challenges that could have been addressed earlier. For that reason, orthodontists prefer to see kids at around age 8 when they are only just beginning to lose their baby teeth. In fact, about 20% of 8-year olds would benefit from early intervention. But why would a family take their child to see an orthodontist literally years before they MIGHT need braces?
There are 2 challenges: Parents don’t know there might be a need, and they are anxious about the cost and the pain. This is the knowledge gap! To address these challenges, Woolston Inventive put together a two-part knowledge campaign.
First, we addressed the knowledge gap. We needed to show why “Eight Is Great” and why “Twelve Is Swell.” We put together a durable, double-sided card with fun images and accessible language (an 8-year old teddy bear on one side, and a pre-teen teddy bear on the other!). The message outlined why and when it is helpful to see an orthodontist even before you need braces. The card touches on what kind of issues orthodontists are looking for. It also provides assurance that they will not push unnecessary procedures. They address the fear of discomfort (it is not as painful or uncomfortable as many fear it will be!) as well as the cost issue (the consultation is free and involves no commitment).
Then came the marketing and promotion. We established a mascot for the practice: Smiles the Bear, and produced a small plush wearing the practice’s t-shirt. And since no kid ever had too many stuffies (as parents everywhere roll their eyes), we found a way to get it to the kids.
We did this through the “Tooth Fairy Card,” a kind of frequent shopper card. It is convenient and durable like a credit card, and displays a graphic of the mouth labeling each tooth, thus building knowledge. We gave it out freely and invited families to mark the card as children lost their teeth. Then after losing those first 8 teeth, kids could come in and actually get Smiles the Bear. After losing the last 12 teeth, they could come in for a $12 Amazon gift card.
The Tooth Fairy Card was immensely popular. We put them in school presentation goodie bags (for 3rd, 4th, 5th grades). We gave them out at career day events and dental health fairs. We gave stacks to dentists and pediatric dentists, and held competitions to see who could give the most or who could give away a stack the fastest. We shared them widely with parents of current patients because they were very popular with siblings and kids who were undecided about braces. Kids like having a “credit card,” and parents like having the names of teeth and understanding better when they should come in. In some ways it works like a business card, but like an EFFECTIVE business card, not the kind that gets tossed in the back of a drawer and forgotten.
And Smiles the Bear is such a popular mascot! The practice gives out the plush ALL the time. They also use Smiles in their marketing: on the website, on their yearly calendar, at photo shoots. Smiles sponsors their yearly candy buy-back at Halloween. There’s also a contest where people can send a picture of them with Smiles from wherever they travel during the summer. This has even led surprisingly to some eager adults who want to participate!
It just goes to show how effective marketing can be when, instead of working so hard to be just promotional, it strives to make people smarter and happier.