Health and Wellness

Exokinetics, the visionary force behind Zeen, partnered with The Pollack Group (TPG) to raise awareness of its innovative mobility device that revolutionizes the lives of individuals facing mobility challenges due to age, injury, or medical conditions. Zeen, referred to by the Patent Office as an 'Elevating Walker Chair,' offers a breakthrough solution for enhancing mobility and restoring a sense of independence.

Devised by the renowned inventor of the Steadicam®, Garrett Brown, in conjunction with Exokinetics, Zeen represents a paradigm shift in mobility technology. Catering to the needs of those dealing with age-related challenges or medical limitations, Zeen employs pioneering zero-gravity technology. This innovation delicately supports an individual's body weight from beneath, enabling natural-paced movement without fatigue, while keeping hands and arms unencumbered.

To make sure this innovation would resonate within Exokinetics’ target market, TPG conducted an audit of Exokinetics materials and Zeen information to craft a message matrix to use as a guide for talking points and written materials. The agency then leveraged media relations to highlight the Zeen invention story with a focus on Garrett’s background as a master inventor and highlighted how current users’ lives have improved since receiving their Zeens. The agency also highlighted Exokinetics’ activity at Abilities Expo-Miami, as well as Zeen’s Series B funding.

TPG secured coverage in Techstination, Technical.ly, The Bulletin, and Philadelphia Business Journal, among others. The agency’s efforts on Zeen’s social media channels resulted in 6% Instagram growth rate.

Happy Wax, the leading manufacturer of wax warmers and scented wax melts, had a goal of increasing national brand awareness through top-of-funnel activities and reducing dependency on Facebook advertising. The North Carolina-based company also needed to develop corporate messaging to ensure that its communications, from the website copy to creative campaigns, would be aligned and consistent.

Companies frequently tout the features and benefits of their products but tend to skip doing the hard work to ‘find their why’, which helps build a brand and create a lasting value philosophy. Happy Wax is a flame-free, trouble-free way to set your mood free. Now, the agency could weave those messages into its media pitching. We secured coverage in national outlets like Buzzfeed, Country Living, Apartment Therapy, and others. We also proudly directed and produced Happy Wax’s first-ever commercial, which will be able to be seen on connected TV nationwide.

The plus-size community has long been “leveraged” for performative allyship in an effort for brands to grow potential revenue. As such, Big Fig Mattress, creators of the first mattress built specifically to meet the needs of the plus-size sleeper, tapped The Pollack Group (TPG) to boost awareness of Big Fig and run its influencer and affiliate relations program to build trust among this inherently distrustful niche demographic.

To highlight product attributes and features, the agency rolled out drumbeat media relations in support of influencer and affiliate relations. We worked with Big Fig Mattress to launch #SeeAllOfMe, a new platform dedicated to advocacy, community service, and heightened visibility for the plus-size demographic through activism, increased allyship, and authenticity, as well as to encourage other brands to take the plus-size community’s interests to heart. The agency also invited and onboarded eight plus-size personalities to join the Big Fig Collective, an advisory panel consisting of prominent voices within the plus-size community to provide insight, expertise, and perspective.

Our combined efforts helped Big Fig take its rightful ownership as the #1 niche mattress brand for the share of voice term ‘Plus Size,’ the #2 share of voice position for ‘Back Pain,’ the #2 share of voice position for ‘Cooling,’ the #3 share of voice position for ‘Side Sleeper,’ and the #1 share of voice position for ‘Sagging’ in over 425+ articles secured in 2021.

Over TPG’s 18-month relationship with Big Fig, sales grew 35% a year. The company doubled its business during COVID-19 and increased sales by 40% in 2021. The agency secured 508 pieces of earned media coverage, totaling 14.63 billion impressions. This coverage had an ad equivalency of $27.5 million. In addition, the affiliate relations program netted in 1,045 sales, totaling more than $1.97 million in gross sales. Additionally, TPG managed more than 75 individual influencer relationships, whose postings across multiple campaigns resulted in a reach of more than 2.3 million with an earned value of $871,100.

As unhappy as Americans were about wearing face masks altogether in the time of Covid, they were even more unhappy with wearing ill-fitting and uncomfortable ones, whether made from cloths or disposables.  Something had to give for the safety of all.
 
And just in time, Medicevo, entered the market with its revolutionary Graphene Face Mask. What it needed most was to build awareness of its  Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (B.F.E.) of 98% -- better than N95 respirators – and is reusable up to 15 wears. Medicevo sought out The Pollack Group to support its goal of becoming a true lifestyle brand, while prioritizing rapid brand awareness and sales conversions. To promote widespread adoption, The Pollack Group implemented a mask sampling and education campaign, sending masks to journalists and influencers, and leveraging a national MAT release.
 
Over the course of several months, the agency’s LAB186 digital marketing and content production studio worked through the challenges of maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols to develop high-quality, engaging content for digital marketing and advertising. While Google and Facebook heavily regulated face mask commerce,  the agency was able to circumvent this, launching several successful campaigns, showcasing diverse models and trendsetters who possess enviable style to make the masks look cool, different, and fashionable. The collective efforts successfully increased brand awareness, interest, and website traffic.

When the world retreated inside in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency helped Chicago-based NuWave, a leader in innovative consumer home appliances to launch and promote its OxyPure Smart Air Purifier, the first air purifier proven to remove 99.999% of coronavirus particles from the air in 6 hours.

The Pollack Group’s outreach secured hundreds of millions of media impressions for the brand, with placements in Business Insider, TechHive, The Spruce, and MarketWatch. In addition, the agency arranged for the OxyPure to be tested by LA Parent, which later awarded the product with its National Parenting Product Award.

The agency complemented this work with drumbeat media relations for another NuWave product, the NuWave Brio Air Fryer, for which it secured placements in Forbes, Elite Daily, MSN, and NBC News.

For more than 90 years, Barco Uniforms, a leader of design innovation in the premium professional apparel industry, has been true to its mission -- to honor and serve those who serve others.

Barco initially retained the agency to increase its earned media coverage. However, our relationship has evolved into a true partnership. We have been instrumental in developing consumer and influencer campaigns to increase brand awareness – specifically, for Barco’s popular “Grey’s Anatomy” and Barco One sub-brands – and tell the company’s story in a compelling way. The agency also filmed and produced a video series to highlight Barco’s partnership with The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens. And most recently, in the age of COVID-19, we launched a media relations campaign to promote Barco’s scrub donation program, in which the company pledged to donate 10,000 scrubs for each month of the pandemic. The agency’s efforts have resulted in more than 3.6 billion media impressions worldwide.

Global hospitality lifestyle company Selina creates unique artistic experiences and work spaces for digital nomads so that they can have the freedom to work and play wherever in the world they want. When scouting for ideal locations in Southern California, Selina needed to put their brand, values, and goals on the radar of future investors and property owners looking to lease unique urban spaces. The agency organized an in-depth investor-focused story about Selina, their innovations in hospitality, and how that will affect Southern California. With a focus on the business and real estate, outlets like Globest, Bisnow, and The RealDeal published in-depth coverage that sparked initial interest in Selina’s business development efforts.

When GoodJanes, a beauty company using naturally derived ingredients to promote health-conscious options for its users, came to the agency, it  tasked it to build and drive awareness and interest to promote sales for its new beauty and makeup product, the Kiss My Lash Mirror, a patented triangulated mirror. To first promote consumer engagement with their product, we audited their site for SEM and SEO and for navigational ease. Subsequently, we made recommendations for changes and, simultaneously, the agency’s LAB186 created video assets to use on the GoodJanes website and social media platforms. Moving on to editorial media, we targeted beauty and lifestyle beats and influencers offering immediate product trial to each and suggesting to hundreds of influencers to create social media posts and reviews in their blogs and on YouTube videos and include them in holiday gift guides. The results were vast, across blogs, social media platforms and media -- such as being on Daytime TV and The Lifestyle List “Fall Beauty Must Haves” segments and making the Luxe List’s “Fab Fall Finds” segments across U.S. markets, among others.

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In anticipation of the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA Triathlon became the first sport to begin preparations and training for the Games. As such, the team sought out the agency to build enthusiasm for their first Los Angeles-area race, the Legacy Triathlon. The agency promoted USA Triathlon’s news that it will launch a series of annual races in Long Beach on the very site of the future Olympic course – where the next generation of Olympians will be presented.

The agency facilitated several partners and supporters, including the City of Los Angeles and the City of Long Beach, and brought local, national and international media attention to the unveiling of the Legacy Triathlon, while also streaming to an online audience through Facebook Live.

When Blink Health, a technology platform that consumers use to get their medications at lower prices, turned to the agency to support its new campaign offering prescribed medications for free, we chose to focus on visual assets. We developed two videos: one for use at launch, to support news- and social-media outreach, and another one a couple of weeks later to reinforce messaging.

The first video was shot at Blink’s offices in Soho and involved all of the company’s employees, showing their enthusiasm for the important ways the company helps patients. The second, a stop-motion treatment, boosted awareness of what Blink Health can do. The videos were a hit on social and helped drive traffic to Blink Health’s site and increased users of its innovative app.

Heart disease has become the #1 cause of death for women. It takes a village to raise awareness that early detection screenings can save lives. Everyone Has A Heart Foundation’s “village” included partnerships with a major health institution, a cardiologist spokesperson, health care networks, local community clinics, women’s groups, religious institutions, and the collaboration of civic, business and community leaders to spread the word within their own spheres of influence. We created a Women’s Heart Day Health Fair, which offered free screenings and educational seminars. Notably, we partnering with the LA Unified School District to distribute more than 450,000 Valentine cards for children to bring home to their mothers, urging them to get heart screened. Shortly after, LA Metro came on board as a marketing partner.

Before tattoo-brightening beauty product Tatul tapped Kickstarter to crowdfund the innovative new skincare tool, they needed third-party endorsements and testimonials from their target audience: Millennial women. Since evaluating a product means trial, we created a special vetting process to identify the best possible online beauty and cosmetic influencers who would spread the word about Tatul. The criteria designed to vet participants was by influence, ranking, size of social networks and views. Some of the most influential tattooed Millennials on the web landed on our influencer list. We then invited hundreds to participate and create social media posts, videos, tweets and blogs about their experience using the product. Armed with several high-quality placements from influencers in their target demographic, we were able to re-purpose them to help add credibility to their Kickstarter campaign.

The City of Santa Monica needed to better understand the community for more informed policies and community initiatives, but realized that it lacked the right type of data. So it set out to do something that had never been done before: integrate the science of wellbeing into the foundation of the local government. The core of the Wellbeing Project, the city’s winning entry in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayor’s Challenge, is a comprehensive index of analysis developed in partnership with renowned research firm RAND Corporation and New Economics Foundation. The agency worked closely with the project to distill and communicate the data for public consumption, consulted on website development and to assist in strategically implementing change within the city based upon findings. The launch of the index solidified the city’s thought leadership platform in sustainability and health and wellness.

When a breakthrough medical procedure has the potential to affect more than half a million women in the U.S. every year, the impact is daunting. miVIP Surgery Centers, a chain of outpatient surgery centers, recognized this when two gynecological surgeons were preparing to perform the first robotic hysterectomy on an outpatient basis at miVIP’s Beverly Hills location. miVIP looked to us for a media relations strategy to raise awareness of this procedure using the renowned da Vinci Surgical System®, a robotic surgery platform used for minimally invasive surgery. We produced a video that allowed broadcast media to utilize stock footage of the impressive equipment. On the day of the surgery, health reporters and other media were granted unprecedented access to shoot the procedure from only a few feet away in a separate room.

Guidon Performance Solutions (now Peppers & Rogers Group) tasked us with raising the brand’s mind and market share by leading the conversation around the insights that healthcare payers and providers needed in order to survive the tsunami of challenges from The Affordable Care Act. Our campaign positioned CEO Ron Wince as one of the foremost healthcare thought leaders on the patient-provider relationship, organizational change and agility. We targeted healthcare influencer media to create educational articles that could be leveraged on social media, and with clients and prospects. Wince was featured in USA Today, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The media coverage and ensuing speaking opportunities led to new business leads and the market perception of category leadership.

When the nation’s leading supplier of massage chairs looked to us for a strategy to showcase the company’s newly re-branded consumer product division, we started by maximizing visibility of Human Touch and its award-winning HT-7450 Zero-Gravity Massage Chair at key technology and design trade shows that focused on wellness, design and technology. At CES and Las Vegas Market, we played into the weariness of trade show participants and attending media, and engaged national broadcast media outlets to take a moment to “experience” the H-7450 massage chair themselves.  Our national public relations campaign completely re-focused media perception of the product category itself — massage chairs — from just “simple comfort/luxury indulgence” to essential lifestyle,health and wellness.

When WHAM-O, makers of the beloved and universally popular Frisbee, wanted to move it from the toy category into a new Frisbee Sport line of products, the challenge was to reconnect with the hard-core Frisbee enthusiasts and create a brand new generation of loyalists eager to experience the spirit of the brand’s competitive roots. Rather than focus on athletes, the agency targeted parents and their young children and teenagers. We developed a family-focused media relations program, timed to peak during the key spring and summer selling seasons, and implemented a junior high school physical education Frisbee sport teaching curriculum, coordinated with the Ultimate Players Association. Midway through the campaign, the Association officially approved the Frisbee Sport Disc for match play.

When the agency was tasked with introducing an already two-year-old patented Vitamin C product into the market, we created a strategy to tie in with public health and wellness issues and build on existing controversies. Ester-C, a Vitamin C supplement, entered the public consciousness through a PR campaign that included media relations, a large trade show presence and a thought leadership program. We enlisted independent expert spokespeople, such as a biochemist with 25 years of vitamin research experience and a nutritionist/author who advocates a vitamin-rich lifestyle to the “rich and famous.” The agency also booked a national radio campaign to promote vitamin benefits and educate consumers on public health concerns, such as toxicity levels.

Shopping for healthy food products at the grocery store can be challenging, due to the overwhelming choices and often conflicting nutritional information. With the introduction of Eaturna’s chef-created, prepared food products, the agency was challenged to cut through the clutter of the competition, and create rapid brand awareness for Eaturna foods in one neighborhood as a trial. The “Eaturnalize your Neighborhood” experiential product launch focused on word-of-mouth marketing, signed pledges committing to healthy eating habits, “Partnership for Healthy Neighborhoods” street teams driving consumer trial, family-focused community events and partnerships where Eaturna food got tasted. Within 60 days, the entire neighborhood had been reached one-on-one and pledged to eating healthy.

The Brita Water Filter System, a portable water filter system from The Clorox Company, is a household name today. But back when it first entered the market, public confidence in tap water was at an all time low. Clorox retained the agency to pilot test the product in Southern California, with the goal of changing the behavior of bottled-water-obsessed consumers. Through an experiential sampling program and a specially designed “Brita Water Cart,” managed by a “Brita Water Patrol” that showed up where bottled waters did — at sports events, marathons, home shows, trade shows, etc. — coupled with our national media campaign focused on health and wellness, sales increased by 26 percent in nine months. Our product launch campaign had unleashed the powerful “word-of-mouth” tool.

Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Greater Los Angeles (MAWLA) needed to reconnect with its community and foster new marketing relationships and asked the agency for new concepts. We launched a 60-day campaign, entitled A Season of Wishes™, with experiential and visual elements, called “Wish It Blue,” (the Foundation’s signature color). We did a city-wide alert of the “blue” with a flip of a “virtual” switch turning major Los Angeles landmarks “blue”, including the famed Pacific Ferris Wheel, the Santa Monica Pier, the Queen Mary and the Vincent Thomas Bridge. We created an “influencers” group, the Circle of Wishes, to expand the campaign. MAWLA’s individual heart-wrenching kid-wish stories were spread across the media, with reporters interacting with the children and their families, capturing the stories live on local broadcasting.

The challenge for Luxe Hotels was to design an experiential and lifestyle synchronized communications platform that was workable for both Luxe Hotels (branded properties) and L.E. Hotels, a collection of premier independent hotel properties worldwide, across 31 countries. Multi-channel digital communications streams had to work in concert with each other regarding overall positioning and messaging, and needed to be dynamic by design, addressing different audiences from various angles. The programming was designed to be foundational and sustainable, as the brand expanded. We implemented an overarching brand platform and specific programming per business unit, that included a Brand Share of Voice and Consumer Engagement as well as Partnerships and Quarterly Engagement, Influencer Marketing and Special Promotion programming that would be tied to seasonal happenings, news cycle or opportunistic events.