Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics provides the advanced prosthetic care every amputee deserves. Next Step is a world leader in the art and science of precisely fitting artificial limbs. With headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire, the company collaborates with manufacturers on behalf of their amputee patients so they will enjoy the most advanced prosthetic limb available. In order to gain national attention for one such advancement, Next Step hired Slotkin Communications to promote the LUKE arm, developed by famous inventor Dean Kamen and his team at DEKA Research & Development Corp., also based in Manchester.
The Challenge
Next Step was in a race for leadership positioning. Next Step had the advantage of proximity to both DEKA (where the arm was invented) and Mobius (the manufacturer), but other competitive care centers had access to this technology and were also working with patients, so time was of the essence to get out in front and showcase the LUKE arm to the press.
Slotkin Communications was given three weeks to develop materials, engage media, coordinate with the Manchester VA, and organize a February news conference in Manchester in order to achieve media coverage in advance of an upcoming meeting determining priority positioning for Next Step as the care center of choice for LUKE arm patients.
Our Approach
There had been stories in the media about the research and the technology behind the development of the LUKE arm following FDA approval and its public introduction in June 2017, but we wanted to advance the story beyond the technology to focus on the human side of the equation. We wanted to tell the story of how people were moving on in their lives and achieving independence with their LUKE arms. Equally important, we wanted to emphasize Next Step’s role as the critical interface between human and prosthetic. Finally, we wanted to provide the VA with the opportunity to demonstrate its positive and collaborative role in bringing the LUKE arm to veterans who need it and demonstrate Next Step’s ability to partner with the VA system.
Armed with a full PR toolkit, including a media event, a robust press outreach program, and guidance on social media strategy, the team at Slotkin Communications drove a steady wave of coverage of Next Step’s LUKE Arm and the patients whose lives it has changed.
Results
Using the media event — complete with demonstrations of the patients’ prosthetics in real-life situations — Slotkin Communications secured coverage for Next Step in their most important local media outlets and won an award for the event as a whole.
Our media event in Manchester, NH won the highest honor in its category (Single Event category, Media Event) in the Pub Club of New England’s 50th Anniversary Bell Ringer awards.
“‘It truly was a village of people that came together to make this happen,’ said Matt Albuquerque, president and founder of Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics in Manchester.”
“Dean Kamen, a well-known inventor who has created medical devices and other technology such as the Segway, worked with Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics in Manchester to make the new prosthetic possible.”
“Next Step Bionics said the fully-functional shoulder allows the “Luke Arm” to move like a real arm would.”
“Matt Albuquerque of Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics in Manchester helped fit the LUKE arms to Ron Currier’s body.”
“Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics, Inc. and DEKA Research and Development demonstrated the LUKE (Life Under Kinetic Evolution) arm for the public in Manchester. […] [Next Step is] the first to try the LUKE arms out.”
“Matt Albuquerque, founder of Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics in Manchester, worked with Kamen and developed the electronics and signal-sending pattern recognition software so brain impulses could do their job.”
“After DEKA built the arm, Next Step created a custom connection of electronics and software to send signals to Currier’s right hand.”
“Chuck Hildreth had both arms removed after and accident and has been working with Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics in Newton, Massachusetts to perfect the use of the company’s new technology.”
“‘We started going around the country to all the big medical schools and it was almost comical that at one point one of the clinical groups said, ‘Well you know, Dean, there’s a really well-recognized national expertise for doing these prosthetic fittings, it’s somebody up in that New England area where you are,’’ Kamen told the crowd. Unbeknownst to Kamen, that company – Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics – was located just a few buildings away in the Manchester Millyard.”
“On Thursday, Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics in Manchester, N.H. debuted its new arm prosthesis that moves based on muscle signals.”
“Senator Maggie Hassan released the following statement today on the first public demonstrations of LUKE arm advancements in prosthetic design: […] I want to congratulate Dean Kamen, DEKA, Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics, and all of the dedicated professionals at the VA for the progress they have made with this groundbreaking technology.”