Mother’s Day occurs every year in early May, coinciding with Women’s Health Month.
In light of the two annual observances, Medtronic decided the timing was right to launch its Letter to My Mother campaign focused on women’s heart health.
Much of the reach of the ongoing campaign can be credited to one of Medtronic’s partners: actress and talk show host Star Jones.
Kimberly Powell, communications program director at Medtronic Structural Heart & Aortic, says she nicknamed Jones as “the Queen of Hearts at Medtronic.”
While accomplished across a number of different fields in entertainment, Powell says Jones intimated that her healthcare brand ambassadorship is now her life’s work since she’s a self-proclaimed “heart disease thriver.”
“Her decision to lend her voice gave the campaign an authenticity,” she says.
Thus far, the satellite media tour with Jones has reached over 20 markets, while she has continued to promote it everywhere from The View to her own church.
Beyond Jones, the campaign includes an editorial video on streaming platforms including Roku TV and Vizio, and ads running on four podcasts in partnership with Dear Media.
As is true of many successful campaigns, Letter to My Mother was built on foundations of research. Some numbers are well known already including that heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, exceeding all cancers combined.
However, a survey conducted by Wakefield Research revealed some of the challenges with getting that number to come down.
Notably, respondents indicated that too many women neglect their own health concerns as they prioritize caring for their children and their parents — a reality especially felt by the “sandwich generation.”
Almost all of the women surveyed by Wakefield indicated they are responsible for making health-related decisions for loved ones, yet over 60% of women find it hard to make their own health a priority.
The survey also found that 45% of women were more likely to discuss sensitive topics — such as politics, money or relationships — with their mother or grandmother before discussing family heart health history. This is despite the fact that as much as half of the risk for heart disease is hereditary.
Powell places the issue of women’s heart health in a larger context, suggesting that high incidences of heart disease are not simply a matter of women not talking to their physicians but also other factors.
This includes a history of exclusion from clinical trials and a lack of awareness among many healthcare professionals that women experience heart disease symptoms differently.
Starting conversations, however, was a place where Medtronic felt it could move the needle with its new initiative.
“We understood that having the right conversation at the right time could literally save your life,” Powell explains. “We wanted to educate women to empower them to have a conversation with their mothers or the other special women in their lives.”
The Letter to My Mother which provides the campaign with its name is a pledge to have a conversation about heart health, in whatever form that might take — no letter writing is required.
While the campaign hasn’t concluded, Powell says the company has excelled with its earned media strategy — accruing more than 750 placements in outlets such as US Weekly, People, Essence and Inside Edition.
With other media placements still to be revealed, Powell says the campaign’s relevance will extend into June and beyond.
“A conversation, a text, a letter, can really save someone’s life,” she says. “We’re encouraging people to take this pledge to talk to their moms, their sisters, their aunts about their heart health, and recognize that it is important not just today, but every day.”
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