What do you get when you cross the world’s first Internet-connected hearing aid with a chart-stopping rock band and VIP concert access exclusively for hearing aid users? Oticon, Inc. calculates about 353 million consumer impressions that are helping to change perceptions of hearing aids and hearing healthcare.
On August 22, Oticon Opn™, the world’s first Internet-connected hearing aid, delivered another first to thousands of Opn wearers across the US. In partnership with rock band Styx, Oticon streamed live audio from the band’s final summer concert exclusively to fans wearing Opn. The concert was the flashpoint in a hugely successful national, regional and local media campaign that captured coverage in Newsweek Magazine and delivered 36 TV and radio interviews and more than 115 online articles in major market newspapers and news websites.
“The Oticon/Styx partnership created an upbeat, exciting way to connect with Opn wearers and to demonstrate how Opn enables people with hearing loss of all ages to ‘rock on’,” said Sheena Oliver, Vice President of Marketing for Oticon, Inc. “It was a concept that caught the imagination of consumers and media. And it allowed us to break through the noise created by legislation on OTC devices to deliver compelling messages about advanced technology hearing aids, hearing healthcare and the importance of professional hearing care to a broad consumer audience.”
Media Highlights
Media coverage hit all the high notes, promoting the benefits of Opn’s internet connections and all-around better hearing experience and the importance of hearing health and hearing check-ups. In addition to newspaper and online news articles, coverage included morning and evening TV news broadcasts and classic rock and drive-time radio. Social media also drove consumer awareness. The Newsweek article alone was shared to 3.34 million Twitter followers and 1.23 million followers on Facebook.
Throughout the coverage, influential role models - from Styx Manager Charlie Brusco to reporters and TV broadcasters – shared personal stories of their own experience with hearing loss. On Local Memphis Live, Brusco talked about his Opn fitting and encouraged viewers to “go out and get their hearing checked.”
Professional Connection
Hearing care professionals were key contributors to the event’s success. Oticon hearing care partners across the country helped to build pre-concert excitement, sharing instructions and and login credentials for the password-protected audio feed with their patients. Throughout the build-up to the concert broadcast, numerous news reports incorporated interviews with local hearing care professionals who offered advice on hearing health, hearing solutions and hearing protection during concerts and other loud events.
“The Oticon/Styx concert broadcast was definitely an attention getter,” said Oliver. “But the coverage we were able to generate told a much bigger story about the importance of hearing health and the potential of hearing solutions to improve not just hearing but overall quality of life.”
For more information on rechargeable Oticon Opn and the expanded Opn family, visit Oticon.com/Opn.