Sonic branding isn’t done well in health, but it’s proven to make ads 8 times more effective.

Lapiplasty is a modern bunion surgery, but it’s not easy to say or remember.

And with people needing to ask for it by name, that’s a big problem.

That’s why we created memorable ASMR sonic brand that embodies the magic people feel when their painful bunion has finally gone.

ASMR is proven to evoke comforting, relaxaing and positive brand associations in an audience who find surgery scary.

Our sonic brand turned a hard to say and scary surgery into something easy to recall.

The work required mandatory fair balance. All fair balance had to be written in footnotes and the main risk had to be said verbally at the end of the ad. It impacted how long we could show the positives and how prominent and long the fair balance needed to be on screen.

With us showing a ‘future patient’ we had to have all bunion related prosthetics and scarring signed off by a consultant surgeon.

Work had to be uploaded into an approval system and signed off by a consultant bunion surgeon, medical, legal and brand.

Bunions primarily impact women over 40 years of age.

Research showed that two main areas impacted the uptake of bunion surgery. Their fear of surgery and the length of recovery.

Their fear of surgery meant that the work has to counteract that in approachability and tone. Ensuring everything was done to maximize comfort and ease with our communications.

Length of recovery post-surgery deters them from prioritising their health as a number of people groups (parents, friends, children, work) depend on their care and time.

Work required mandatory fair balance. Fair balance had to be written in footnotes and the main risks had to be said verbally at the end. It impacted how long we could show the positives visually and how prominent and long the fair balance needed to be on screen.

Our target audience was women over 40 as they typically are the most likely to have bunions. They are a demographic with many people and places depending on them (their parents, friends, children or work), so traditionally they would be put off by surgery fears and length of recovery.

Our Future You campaign showed bunion sufferers what their future could look like with future versions of themselves appearing in fun and magical ways with our Lapiplasty sonic branding.

We even have a trusted voice (surgeon) appear as well to deliver the key brand line – getting you back in sneakers in weeks.

We took a light-hearted approach to stand out as an approachable and non-scary way to become bunion free.

SITUATION

Women over 40 are suffering with painful bunions. But due to their fear of surgery and the length of recovery, they prioritise their role in the family (parents, friends, children, work) over their own health.

BRIEF/OBJECTIVES

- Create a piece of communication that made Lapiplasty feel approachable and simple to do. Make people feel that bunion surgery is something they can fit into their lives.

- Take an unknown surgery that’s difficult to remember and turn into a household name people easily recall.

- Reengage patients who are scared of bunion surgery because of long and arduous recovery times and make them feel Lapiplasty is easy, magical and transformational.

In creating our Lapiplasty sound we tried over 100 versions before crafting the perfect one. Everything from different genders, ages and a mix of instrumentation was used. Pianos, strings, wind instrumentation all didn’t evoke the simple magic feel we needed for Lapiplasty. It wasn’t until we paired a puff sound and chimes glissando with an ASMR whisper that we knew we had a sound that’s magical to the ear, the same way Lapiplasty is magical to their feet.

With ASMR proven to significantly enhance message recall and evoke feelings of comfort and relaxation, our sonic branding created positive brand associations in our audience – who normally see surgery as something scary.