Emergency Dental Care USA

Michael Obeng, DDS, opened his first Emergency Dental Care USA office in Omaha in 1996. He now has 11 offices in seven states.

As the business has grown and evolved, so have the demands for marketing the business. Vamonos Marketing asked Catena Creations to partner with them in April 2010 to complement the services that Vamonos had been providing to Dr. Obeng for several years.

We started out writing two to three blog entries a month for the Ask the Emergency Dentist blog. Then we created a public relations and marketing strategy with detailed steps to meet Dr. Obeng’s short- and long-term goals for his offices.

PR and marketing strategies

The plan started with exploring opportunities for advertising in all markets, as well as possible outlets for community service. We then created a step-by-step marketing and publicity plan to be used as a template when Emergency Dental opens a new office.

Work began in summer 2010 on two major print projects. The first involved editing and upgrading a book of phone scripts Dr. Obeng’s staff had developed. The book was a referral source for office staff who answered patient questions.

Catena Creations edited the scripts, then designed a notecard-sized book with tabs to hold the scripts. The laminated pages were spiral bound so the book would be durable enough for frequent use. It is now being used in all of his offices.

The second print project involved the creation of a folder and inserts  for a referral program for dentists. Working closely with Dr. Obeng, Catena Creations wrote the text and designed the presentation package, complete with tiered inserts and a four-color presentation folder.

Halloween Candy Buyback

Dr. Obeng sponsored his first-ever Halloween Candy Buyback from his Omaha office on Nov. 1, 2010. Catena Creations set up the partnership with Operation Gratitude, which packages the candy collected into care packages for U.S. troops overseas.

We created two outdoor banners for posting at Dr. Obeng’s office at 84th and Center streets in Omaha, so traffic passing by could learn about the event, and flyers for posting inside the office

We also wrote a press release and distributed it to the local media. The release led to a radio interview and drive-time mentions on other stations, as well as inclusion in a story in the Omaha World-Herald.

On the day of the buyback, Catena Creations managed the event. We met the kids and their parents at the Emergency Dental office, weighed the candy, counted out the cash, and took photos at the event.  We paid out $95 to kids and collected a total of 131 pounds of candy for the troops.

Catena Creations also posted about the event on our Facebook page and our blog, before and after the event. It was also included on the Emergency Dental blog, Web sites and Facebook page.

The office-opening marketing template was tested and fine tuned in December 2010 and January 2011 when Emergency Dental opened new offices in Everett, WA. We wrote a press release for distribution to the local media and posted it on PR Web.

In addition to following the marketing plan, we also created flyers to hand out in the Everett area. They were such a success that we created tear-off notepads with the office’s contact information and a small map. These notepads were distributed to area pharmacies, doctor and dentist offices, hospitals and other businesses who might refer patients to Emergency Dental Care in Everett.

Allcare Dental and Denture

Everyone’s skills were tested in January 2011 when Dr. Obeng took over the records of Des Moines patients of Allcare Dental and Denture, which closed its doors on Dec. 31, 2010, and ended operations in 39 offices in 14 states. Catena Creations worked with Vamanos Marketing to get the word out that Emergency Dental Care in Des Moines would complete, at no charge, dental work for Allcare Dental patients in Des Moines who could prove they had prepaid for it.

While Vamonos updated the Web site and social media outlets, Catena Creations wrote a press release and distributed it to the Des Moines media. KCCI-TV interviewed Emergency Dental staff for afternoon and evening newscasts.

The Des Moines Register incorporated the press release information into an update story, which was then distributed by the Associated Press. The AP story was picked up by a large number of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal.

Catena Creations created an account on PR Web for Emergency Dental Care USA so the press release could be distributed nationally. That led to the story being picked up by blogs and publications in the dentistry, insurance and consumer finances industries.

A follow-up press release was sent out six weeks later to publicize the results of Dr. Obeng’s promise: his office had treated nearly 100 former Allcare patients as of March 1, and the value of that work was more than $65,000. KCCI returned for a follow-up story, and again several online publications picked up the story from the PR Web press release.

Moving forward, Catena Creations is researching advertising opportunities with professional organizations for dentists and dental hygienists, pharmacists and emergicare centers in the states where Emergency Dental Care has offices. We are creating print and online ads for their newsletters and sponsorship opportunities.