• by Larissa Faw , September 10, 2015

Last year, Airway Management (AMI) — a manufacturer of oral appliances that treat “sleep-disordered breathing,” such as snoring  and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — approached agency Commerce House (CH) to create a brand that could help them accelerate revenue growth. 

The 20-year-old privately held AMI already operates five Web sites aimed at snoring and sleep apnea, but the company felt it was missing an opportunity for a wider audience.

There are an estimated 50 million to 70 million American adult consumers with sleep disorders and more than 80 companies sell oral prescription devices that claim to “stop snoring.”

AMI initially assumed that CH could help it achieve its goals via a simple package and brochure redesign, but instead, CH recommended a complete repositioning -- citing the need to stand out from larger competitors with bigger budgets.

The agency also advised AMI to get bigger by getting smaller, simplifying its value proposition because its product line was too complicated.  

"Through discovery, we learned that many practicing dentists are trained to treat three different ‘dental’ disorders — grinding, reflux, snoring — separately," says Nancy Crume, principal, strategic planning & insights, Commerce House. "But today’s mouth/body science shows a causal relationship within this triad. And patients who snore typically suffer from more serious ailments that can cause other problems." 

As a result, AMI and CH are introducing a business-to-business awareness campaign to support AMI's newly consolidated Thornton Adjustable Positioning (TAP) brand. "We turned point solutions into a clear, consumer-centric TAP Sleep Care approach," says Crume. "We aligned the products along a spectrum (TAP System) and created a continuous improvement (TAP Method) therapy plan for which AMI has developed diagnostic and training tools." 

This entire project requires a new approach, since dentists have not typically discussed sleep problems that usually go undetected in patients but are evident in dental symptoms.

"We decided to zig whilst others were zagging," says Crume. "Strategically we had to break out of the current 'stop snoring' convention. Creatively we had to step up and stand out. So instead of focusing on the symptom of 'snoring', we changed the conversation." 

Under the effort, the campaign is introducing a new Web site, and brochures and print and online ads are running in various trade publications.