Case Study: Rebiotix
Gut check time.
Positioning a breakthrough therapy by introducing a new category
The Issue
A group of experienced entrepreneurs were pursuing a remarkable new therapy for treating the deadly gastrointestinal clostridium difficile (c-diff) infection using feces from healthy people. They had a patent and a name, Mikrobex, but needed a comprehensive brand and messaging platform so they could start building recognition in this highly competitive and regulated industry.
The Insight
Despite its 90% efficacy, the market was hesitant to embrace the new therapy because of its somewhat unorthodox methodology (fecal transplants). We needed to bring the conversation squarely into the medical and scientific mainstream by finding a way to describe this new category of therapy that made intuitive and technical sense. And would help us get past all the poop jokes.
The Solution
We recommended positioning the new therapy within the established field of “biotics,” which includes antibiotics (that kill cells) and probiotics (that promote cell health). Because this treatment replenishes the entire microbiome, we created a new category called “rebiotics” — and recommended renaming the company Rebiotix to establish and position them as the leader in the field. (As for the poop jokes, we did have some fun with their internal rally cry: “We’re Number Two!”).
Brand building starts on the inside.
Needless to say, when working with fecal transplants all day it was important for employees to have a healthy sense of humor, even though the disease they were helping to fight was deadly serious. To that end we developed an internal campaign that proudly declared what they were all about.
Results
“Spyglass created a distinctive brand — which enabled us to secure the funding necessary to finance FDA testing and approval. The Rebiotix brand is the clear leader in this new category and is recognized worldwide. Without the brand, we certainly wouldn’t have the credibility and level of recognition that we have, which was part of what made us attractive to Ferring.”
– Lee Jones, CEO and co-founder of Rebiotix
Lee sold her company to global biopharmaceutical Ferring for an undisclosed price.
For more on Rebiotix and an interview with CEO and founder Lee Jones, visit our blog post:
What’s the value of a strong brand position? The bajillion dollar question. Answered.
Deliverables
- Name
- Logo
- Investor Deck
- Website
- Conference Materials
- Packaging
- Advertising
- Internal Launch Campaign