Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital (Williamsville, NY) added the first da Vinci Duo Surgical System in Western New York. This system gave the hospital a competitive advantage, allowing for minimally invasive surgeries with reduced trauma, less pain, shorter hospital visits, less scarring and a reduced risk of infection.

Other area hospitals recently invested in a single console da Vinci system or were making plans to add the duo system in the near future. Millard Fillmore Suburban wanted to make a far-reaching and powerful announcement and educate the general public about the benefits of da Vinci-assisted surgeries.

SKM Group recommended an awareness campaign leading with two 30-second TV spots and billboards. The billboard announced “The Future of Surgery Is Here.” SKM tied the “Vetruvian Man” artwork by da Vinci to the Kaleida Health System and Millard Fillmore Suburban logo. The first TV spot called “Vetruvian Man” combines artistry with science and uses intrigue to illustrate someone quickly drawing da Vinci’s famous work. At the end of the spot, it is revealed that the drawing is actually only a few square inches in size and is accurately drawn by a surgeon using the da Vinci Surgical System. The second TV spot “Hands” focuses on the pure artistry and accuracy of a surgeon’s hand and illustrates how the combination of a surgeon’s hands and the da Vinci Surgical System can reshape the way surgery is being performed at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital.This campaign was cost effective because we were able to film actual doctors and a local artist using the machine on site, instead of going into a studio. We were able to edit the commercials in house, saving the hospital system thousands of dollars.

The campaign has helped to surpass the original goals set for 2010 da Vinci surgeries.