For Schering-Plough and their new product
NASONEX the answer was yes...because they
turned to the wide-ranging business communications expertise of Media Matrix to provide the
national teleconference they needed to get this
new nasal inhaled steroid product off to a flying
start. Oddly, one of the biggest challenges
surrounding the launch event was that the
pending competition for NASONEX was coming
from Schering-Plough’s own success with it's
Vancenase family of products, regarded as the
top performers in the allergy treatment market.
To get the message across that NASONEX had
“Performance Plus” that outdid anything else the
reps or their physicians had seen before,
Schering-Plough turned the creative and technical
aspects of the teleconference over to Media
Matrix—an organization with its own commitment
to “Performance Plus.”
and Schering-Plough sales executives were shot in various locations—a movie
theatre, a basketball court, and a TV studio—contributing to the “big media
event” atmosphere that made the teleconference entertaining as well as
informative. The reason for the exotic locations: A series of video vignettes
Media Matrix quickly crafted a creative and
memorable teleconference treatment featuring a
video host who acted as emcee...and then some.
The host’s task was to drive the event forward,
helping to set up both entertainment and informational content, getting involved in banter with
featuring people from all walks of life, people who had achieved a high level of
performance—then moved on to a new level of excellence called “Performance
Plus”—in filmmaking, in basketball, in television. It was the message that
Schering-Plough wanted the teleconference attendees across the country to
hear, because the plan for NASONEX was to accomplish exactly the same
thing—make the performance of a market leader even better.
Schering-Plough presenters, “reporters” at each
teleconference downsite (Schering-Plough sales
executives interviewing the attendees), and even
top-level management. The basic framework of
the teleconference quickly emerged as the
planning continued. First there was a central
“studio” featuring the host and some guests,
pre-recorded video vignettes, and sets plus
props (created by Media Matrix). Complementing
the studio—and making the event extra
The wide and diverse locations for the NASONEX teleconference set up
numerous technical challenges for Media Matrix, involving timing, satellite
transmissions from all over the U.S., a creative blend of executive presentations
with audience participation, and many more. All the challenges were met, and at
the end of this important event, both the teleconference attendees and the
Schering-Plough event planners had seen how excellent performance could be
transformed into “Performance Plus”—in launching a new product, and in
devising a clever and technically flawless forum for a nationwide launch of
that product.
memorable—were live video feeds to downlink
sites all across the U.S., complete with enthusiastic sales reps and interviews. Pre-recorded video
questions from representatives about the product
launch and marketing strategy, and videotape of
physicians discussing the benefits of NASONEX,
completed the “media event.” What’s more, the
teleconference host didn’t stick to the main set
exclusively. Video sequences featuring the host
Media Matrix is a Horsham, PA-based communications company involved in the
production and staging of business meetings, webcasts and teleconfe