The detail
Hurdles to overcome
At the time of kick-off, the concept of digital identity management was still largely unknown in the healthcare sector in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). Digital identity’s role in strengthening security and enhancing hospital workflow efficiency still required lengthy explanation and deliberation for high-level decision-makers.
Imprivata’s acquisition of OGiTiX also made communications a little more complex as heavy rebranding took place. As a result, specialised media had to be informed of the merger and its value. With the additional need to introduce new German-speaking spokespeople to the mix, the lorries needed to weave an attention-grabbing strategy that ensured the company’s messaging would reach far and wide, while remaining consistent and harmonised.
A bit of context
In recent years, the digitalisation of healthcare has evolved from an often-hollow phrase to a tangible foundation for the future of hospitals. Once a set of rough plans, Germany’s Hospital Future Act has become a bible of concrete measures to modernise the OT infrastructure of hospitals and all systems connected to medical care.
While digital identity is a critical element of the KHZG, key decision-makers were clueless about its importance. That’s where the lorries came in.
The mission
- Boost brand awareness in the healthcare market, establishing Imprivata as the digital identity company
- Position Imprivata as a platform provider of an entire suite of solutions, rather than a single point product
- Establish Imprivata executives as expert thought leaders at the forefront of digital identity trends
The key aim of the PR campaign was to position Imprivata as an experienced consultant that understands complex environments and the unique security, workflow and compliance challenges of hospitals. We wanted audiences to grasp that Imprivata could actively address the KHZG’s strict requirements and framework conditions with its holistic suite of digital identity management solutions for modern healthcare.
How we went about it
Targeted content creation played a driving role in our campaign strategy, with the intent to land large-scale publications that boost brand visibility. We aimed to reach IT decision-makers and C-suite executives searching for advice, guidance and solutions to current security, workflow and compliance challenges to push Imprivata as a trusted, informative and influential voice in identity security.
The lorries crafted a series of thought leadership articles and comments while organising interviews that covered the hottest trends and topics in the industry. We produced educational content, sharing best practices and evaluating current and future security trends. In this, we consistently emphasised the importance of boosting operational efficiency in hospitals. To strengthen our relationships with the media, we made sure to offer Imprivata spokespeople as interview partners or guest authors.
We also monitored awards, events and trade fairs to spot any opportunities. Such opportunities took the form of conducting visitor surveys (2022 and 2023) at DMEA, Europe’s most important trade fair and congress for digital healthcare in Berlin. These studies assessed the digital maturity level of healthcare facilities in the DACH region. With lorry teams on site, we arranged interviews with journalists present at the events, which also provided some intriguing insights for content creation (and generated national coverage – see below!).
As the campaign achieved success after success, we began to focus our attention on expanding our reach from healthcare alone. Because IT security is particularly prominent in DACH, we made a point in targeting tech and security press, highlighting the cybersecurity angle in our articles and broadening media visibility as a result.
The payoff
As of December 2023, our PR campaign has generated 38 pieces of coverage in healthcare trade press, as well as tech and security titles. This includes thought leadership pieces published by key healthcare (Management und Krankenhaus, Healthcare Digital) and tech publications (IT-Business, IT-Zoom).
“Since kicking off a PR programme with the lorries, we’ve been pleased with how we’ve been able to strengthen our media presence in the DACH region and establish the new German brand Imprivata OGiTiX.” – Leslie Keil, VP of brand, digital and communications at Imprivata
The cherry on top? We landed two bylines with Germany’s national daily newspaper, Tagesspiegel. The first article dealt with hospital employees as an additional security risk and the second explored the details of our large-scale DMEA survey.
In total, Imprivata gained a volume of 94.5% tier 1 coverage. We continue to work with the team today, constantly seeking out new opportunities to boost the brand to new heights!