08 May How Bryant Brown helped Sense Biodetection find buyers for its revolutionary COVID-19 POC product—and itself
As the pandemic unfolded, Sense Biodetection developed Veros™ COVID-19. This revolutionary point-of-care (POC) diagnostic detects the virus with the speed of an antigen test (about 15 minutes) but with the accuracy of a PCR test (97.9%).
Sense’s goal was to market Veros COVID-19 globally—it received approval to market in select countries in the EU while awaiting US approval.
In the process, the company also was an attractive acquisition target.
To ensure maximum appeal to both customers and investors, Bryant Brown Healthcare first undertook an assessment of the company’s marketing plans and activities to date as well as the marketing of competitors.
Applying our 6-step R.E.M.E.D.Y. process
To perform the assessment, we implemented our 6-step R.E.M.E.D.Y. process that we use to identify marketing deficits that can compromise company value and diminish marketing ROI:
Our assessment helped reveal the critical, immediate need for a marketing campaign driven by clear, high-impact differentiation of this first-of-its-kind innovation with the power to address a global health crisis unfolding in real time.
Once in place, we created the branding, including the memorable tagline “Know. Right. Now.”
Sense Biodetection ad – Irish Medical Times
Creating the foundation
To prepare for the global rollout of the Veros™ COVID-19 test, the Bryant Brown team leveraged the R.E.M.E.D.Y. process findings to craft the foundational elements of the campaign: the product positioning and messaging.
A global launch
Veros COVID-19 was first approved for use in Ireland. This was followed by approvals in Germany, Benelux countries, Italy, the Nordic countries, Germany, Italy, Canada, the UK, and countries in South America.
As approvals—and excitement—grew, more and more distributors from around the world signed with Sense to sell the product.
A global partnership
In 2010, Bryant Brown and UK-based Hanson Zandi co-founded Encompass Worldwide, a global affiliation of agencies dedicated to healthcare marketing, advertising, and public relations. Encompass also has affiliates in the Asia-Pacific region, South America, and other regions.
Together, Bryant Brown and Hanson Zandi developed an ambitious marketing plan to build brand awareness and drive sales worldwide of Veros COVID-19.
Tactics included a mix of programmatic advertising, social media promotions, email campaigns, and print advertising.
The campaign targeted healthcare specialists as well as the oil and gas industry, travel industry, educational institutions, and other potential customers interested in state-of-the-art, large-scale testing.
Sense Biodetection brochure
Achieving another measure of success
The launch of Veros COVID-19 country by country was a success – sales and enthusiasm soared among both distributors and customers.
Then, just as Bryant Brown was ramping up the planned US launch of the product in 2023, Sherlock Biosciences acquired Sense Biodetection. The acquisition of Sense’s instrument-free diagnostic hardware and molecular amplification technology helps Sherlock achieve its goal of delivering rapid, accurate, and affordable diagnostic tests to people at the point-of-need.
We can’t wait for the next era in the evolution of Veros and the impact it will have on the US!
