Crossing borders: National expansion from Scotland into England
Headline numbers
- National BBC news coverage with reach of over half a million
- More than 100 pieces of coverage achieved including press releases and op-eds with a reach in excess of 8.9 million
- Speaker opportunities secured at national events, including Rewired, Intelligent Health and HETT North, with international presence at HIMSS Europe
- Shortlisted for the HSJ Digital Award in Optimising Clinical Pathways through Digital category.
Challenge
Lenus Health is a Scottish-based health tech provider, headquartered in Edinburgh. It provides predictive AI and digital tools for chronic conditions such as COPD and heart failure, accelerating diagnosis and treatment, risk-stratifying patients for intervention and delivering savings through reduced hospital admissions and use of virtual wards.
Silver Buck’s relationship with Lenus Health began in 2022 when they approached us to help build their brand through PR, thought leadership and communications consultancy. Lenus already had relationships with the NHS in Scotland but the ambition was to grow and gain its market share, with expansion into England. As the selected PR agency, our challenge was to build on this existing footprint in Scotland, and position Lenus as a leader in their specialist field.
Action
To support and promote Lenus Health, we implemented a cohesive strategy spanning owned, earned and shared content to enhance recognition of the brand through consistent and regular media placements. Our efforts focused on PR opportunities including press releases, opinion pieces, proactive media engagement, case studies, speaking engagements, and award entries.
We actively identified strategic opportunities, securing op-ed coverage with the Health Service Journal, a speaking opportunity alongside the Director of Medical Technology from the Department of Health and Social Care at a techUK event and an international speaking slot at HIMSS Europe. We achieved wide ranging coverage reinforcing the value of its integrated virtual ward approach, its world first AI trial and landmark Memorandum of Understanding partnership in Scotland. At the same time as securing national coverage in media outlets including The Herald and The Scotsman, we also nurtured relationships and increased awareness of Lenus Health with think tanks such as The King’s Fund.
Impact
Our PR delivery for Lenus Health gained initial traction following promotion of its pioneering home monitoring tool for COPD at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and on the back of a press release BBC News contacted the company and generated coverage of their product, featuring Dr Chris Carlin from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. Coverage also included articles and op-eds with a number of regional and sector specialist publications including UK Authority, Health Tech Newspaper, and Tech Market View.
Lenus is now working closely with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and their virtual wards delivery which has gained wide acclaim following press release and op-ed coverage. More recently our PR delivery has focussed on their new breathlessness collaboration with Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB with further wide-reaching coverage expected. A recent interview organised with ex-BBC journalist, Rory Cellan-Jones, has also led to further coverage for Lenus Health and a briefing secured with the Health Service Journal has further strengthened their relationship with digital tech media outlets.
Links to top coverage
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64988494
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23433075.nhs-glasgow-world-first-ai-trial-copd-patients/
