Case Study

A true growth companion for Companion Medical

The partnership between Companion Medical and YDA

Companion Medical is an innovator in the healthcare sphere. And when we say innovator, we mean it in the truest sense of the word. They have literally changed the shape of the medtech industry, as well as the lives of countless diabetes 1 and 2 sufferers.

Companion Medical – acquired by Medtronic in 2020 – is the manufacturer of InPen, the only U.S. FDA-cleared smart insulin pen system that is connected with its own diabetes management app.

Why is this so great? The reusable InPen allows diabetes sufferers to take the right dose of insulin at the right time, all controlled via an app. A personalized dose is recommended by the InPen dose calculator according to your blood glucose, the carbohydrates you eat, and the amount of active insulin you have.

You can choose between three different modes depending on whether you count carbs or not. With InPen, you can check the app at any time to see how much insulin is still active in your body from previous doses. By using this information, the InPen helps you avoid stacking and also knows if a correction dose is needed.

Lost in the crowd

In spite of the powerful medtech capabilities, Companion Medical needed help with online brand awareness, digital marketing campaigns for InPen, and digital transformation from Covid-19.

In short, their target audience was simply not aware of their amazing product offering, and the business was not positioned for agile and rapid digital growth.

“Our product is good, our target audience has a great need for it, but we were not hitting the numbers we’d anticipated. We knew that we needed help,” says Karen Hynes, Vice President of Marketing, Companion Medical. “I reached out to Alex Macura and his team at YDA to amplify our voice in an overcrowded diabetes product space.”

Ramping up the voltage

Our team got to work right away. YDA is a symphony of industry experts, each focused on their unique proficiencies, who work within the group to create harmonious, streamlined, well-executed marketing strategies.

Digitization at velocity

The leadership at Companion Medical embraces digitization and innovative technology at every level.

“Companion Medical asked us to support and assist their rapid digital transformation from Covid-19,” says Alex, founder of YDA. “My decades of experience in scaling businesses for growth meant I could lean into this. I worked closely with the marketing team to help modernize processes and systems. More than that, we got to work uprooting outdated ways of doing, working, and thinking, and replacing them with concepts that are more agile and flexible.”

This digitization allowed Companion Medical to use data and analytics to identify potential changes, risks, and opportunities. Modern ways of working and planning meant they could adapt to changes in the market with ease, and respond quickly, if not preemptively.

Google Ads for great growth

Additionally, YDA focused on creating brand awareness for Companion Medical, especially for the InPen product. “We did this through strategizing, optimizing, and implementing a really effective Google Ads campaign for the InPen,” says Alex. The team also optimized the landing page for more conversions and ROI.

The Google Ads experts at YDA optimized the ad campaign with three things in mind:

To grow brand awareness at the top of the funnel.
To improve the cost per qualified lead – essentially decreasing the company’s cost for each new patient.
To drive customers through the sales funnel towards higher leads and conversions.

Ultimately, the overarching goal was to achieve greater business growth through well-executed digital, full-funnel marketing.

Breaking through the diabetes ceiling

In under a year, the team at YDA saw the following results for Companion Medical, all due to the optimized Google Ads strategy, deployment, and analytics:

1,365% growth in leads. This was an increase of leads from April to November.
Reducing in CPA by 45%. The cost per acquisition decreased significantly.
Increased marketing budget by 542%. The marketing budget increased tremendously.

“The results were astronomical,” says Karen from Companion Medical. “We were beyond thrilled with the radical increase in awareness and new clients the Google Ads brought in.”

The growth was so significant, even Google noticed it

Thanks to YDA’s involvement in Companion Medical’s Google Ads campaign, and its positive development, YDA was handpicked by Google to participate in the Google Brand Acceleration Program.

“This is an invite-only program,” says Alex, “designed to support brands with massive market potential. We were honored to be included.”