WILLINGNESS TO DIG through details is key in business-to-business writing. Case in point: my recent work for Straumann U.S., the American subsidiary of a large Swiss dental supplier.
Campaign #1: Straumann® CARES® Video and eBook
Straumann was launching a new digital system to help U.S. dentists replace traditional implant procedures with same-day crowns that could be designed and machined while patients waited. The campaign direction: show how dentists can "rock their practice" with new digital instruments and a 21st century patient experience attractive to tech-conscious millennials.
Simple, right? Well, it was complicated a bit by the need to learn some basics about implant dentistry. And high-resolution 3D scanning. Not to mention computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM). But as you can see from the video, it turned out quite nicely. Then it was on to my next task, researching and writing this eBook:
Again, the title and topic were set in advance. I just had to make them work, weaving factoids and rock puns and sell points into clickbait that would pull in new prospects. All told, this campaign ended up pulling in more than 275 leads from dental professionals – for less than one-tenth the cost per lead of an earlier campaign done by Straumann.
Campaign #2: Straumann® LOOP
ANOTHER STRAUMANN CAMPAIGN concerned LOOP, a cloud-based communication platform that helps dentists, oral surgeons and dental laboratories to make referrals and share patient information.
My brief was to assemble edit-ready scripts for six 1- to 3-minute "point of view" videos, each giving the perspective of an influential segment. Again, it meant sifting through lots of raw (VERY raw) interview footage with camera-shy dentists, specialists, dental laboratories and their office staffs.
Here's the finished version for general dentists, explaining what they like about LOOP:
> You can see the rest of the videos here.
Unscripted interviews with amateurs who are nervous, prone to flubs and bristling with verbal tics can make it very difficult to get across the desired talking points in a minute or two. You have to watch hours of dross to find that occasional flash of gold. Then it's about creating a coherent flow from the patchwork -- the articulation of product basics from one dentist, the emotion and heart of another, the no-BS takeaway from still another.
Together they told a story that could support Straumann's talking points. Not fancy or polished, but genuine and insightful.
NEXT CAME THE JOB of writing another eBook to generate online leads. Again the title and length had been set before I got involved, without any material in place to work from. Nor were there any of the factoids that eBooks typically use as sticky content to encourage interest and project an image of thought leadership.
Here's a sample:
Videos obviously are a growing part of any advertising activity, but I really look forward to doing more eBooks. As a less stuffy version of the white paper, it's the sort of advertorial work that I enjoy. The interplay of information, graphics and clicks is really satisfying - and accounts like Straumann offer something I can really sink my teeth into. | DC |