Cochlear

Advancing Hearing Health Access Through Innovation Storytelling

Linhart spotlighted Cochlear’s efforts to position hearing health as a critical priority and reduce barriers to care, resulting in a steady drumbeat of innovation-based trade media stories and two national features with Forbes and WIRED.

Challenge

Cochlear is dedicated to transforming the lives of people with hearing loss through innovative hearing solutions and efforts to remove systemic obstacles that prevent treatment access. Despite major investments in research and development, as well as collaborative research programs and efforts to advance the science of hearing, awareness gaps remain between healthcare providers, policymakers and consumers, leaving many cochlear implant candidates unaware they even qualify for the technology.

‍

Strategy

With product launches on the horizon and the formation of a pivotal new hearing health research collaboration between Cochlear and Google, Linhart saw an opportunity to not only generate recognition for Cochlear as an innovation powerhouse, but to help highlight coordinated efforts by the company to tackle the rising impact of hearing loss, while also demystifying care.

Execution

Over the course of a year, Linhart supported two major product launches and one new product capability announcement with trade media outreach to raise awareness of key technology updates among hearing health professionals. The team also conducted targeted national media outreach around a joint announcement of the partnership with Google, and the publishing of the first-ever standard of care guidelines outlining who should be tested and ultimately referred for a cochlear implant. With so many partners and spokespeople in the mix for this joint release, the team strategically tailored outreach for each target, successfully matching different interview offers with the right reporters based on their coverage focus, reporting history and familiarity with hearing technology.

Results

Both earned media efforts were successful.

Linhart PR maintained a steady drumbeat of industry media coverage for Cochlear's product innovations, securing 9 trade stories for a total of 570,000 impressions in key outlets including Hearing Review Products, Hearing Health Matters and Audiology Online.
The team also secured two major national features on Cochlear's hearing health research collaboration and standard of care guidelines in Forbes and WIRED. The two stories featured Cochlear key messages and impactful interviews with Cochlear's celebrity brand ambassador, two cochlear implant specialists, Google's lead accessibility research product manager and Cochlear's chief technology office.

‍

Images provided by Cochlear Americas

More Case Studies

Protecting a Utility’s Right to Serve – Again

Five years after voters rejected an effort to replace their investor-owned electric utility with a government-run system, municipalization re-emerged as a significant business and reputational risk.

Cultivating Brand Love and Product Awareness for Valentine's Day

Linhart positioned Chocolove chocolate as the perfect gift through earned, social and paid media activations, successfully differentiating the brand from competitors to attract new customers and drive sales during a saturated holiday.