J&J to shift marketing focus for new line of vital signs monitors – Johnson and Johnson Medical Inc
To sell its latest line of portable vital signs monitors, Johnson & Johnson Medical Inc. trained its 1995 marketing efforts in a melange of medical-surgical areas. But in 1996, a different tactic will surface when the big company refocuses on pediatric uses. The Arlington, Texas-based company was granted a 510(k) for the products in the spring.
The new products are the Dinamap[TM] XL Vital Signs Monitors, a line made up of the Model 9300 vital signs monitor, the Model 9320 monitor with predictive thermometer, and the Model 9350 monitor with FirstTemp[TM] Genius[TM] infrared tympanic thermometer.
The current J&J marketing effort features a four-color product brochure that, along with other materials, has been a staple of door-drops at several med-surg nursing conventions this year. The line was rolled out in May at the American Assn. of Critical Care Nurses exposition in New Orleans. The monitors have also been displayed at a variety of trade shows as well, including the Emergency Nurses Assn. and the Nursing Management Congress.
On the advertising side, full-page journal ads have been running every two months since March in publications like Med-Surg Nursing, MEEN and Nursing Management.
Mike Genau, J&J’s group product director, says that this year the company sought sales in virtually every clinical area of the hospital, particularly neonatal, labor and delivery and recovery room areas. J&J highlights the units’ portability and stat mode that is new to the portable monitor lines. In addition, no special training is needed for clinicians, though an inservice video is included with every order to smooth out any problems.
But in 1996, the target will move to the pediatric neonatal intensive care unit area where the adjustable target inflation pressure feature (100 to 250 mmHg) of the monitors that places lower pressure on the cuff has been identified as drawing favor of nurses.
The new J&J products are priced between $3,000 and $3,600. Temperature can be added to the Model 9340 at a later date. The company is also offering a two-year parts and labor warranty and a loaner program. However, as with most modern medical devices, customers still want the ability to monitor more for less money. The high-end Dinamap Plus fills all demands. But Genau says the XL monitors were not intended to replace that flagship unit. The XL does not offer pulse oximetry, a feature included with the Dinamap Plus. Each of the new units will interface with J&J’s Observer[TM] Central Station, where data is collected and stored.
J&J sells its monitors in an estimated $50 million U.S. market, where it holds a share approximated at the low to mid-50% range. Following J&J are Datascope Patient Monitoring Division, Paramus, N.J.; Colin Medical Instruments Corp., San Antonio, Texas; Ivac Corp., San Diego, and several others.
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