Can an email help save a life?
Read about our work with DiagnoCure and you be the judge.

DiagnoCure is a company on the edge — the cutting-edge, that is. The work they’ve done in the area of colorectal cancer testing has broken down barriers, allowing physicians to more accurately assess the stage of colorectal cancer.

The Previstage GCC™ Colorectal Cancer Staging Test “sees” more lymph node tissue, which represents a huge improvement over conventional techniques. By using this test, doctors can more accurately determine which patients may really be a stage III, not a stage 1 or II.

The challenge: How to reach physicians who can spread the word about the breakthrough significance of Previstage GCC.

The 2010 annual ASCRS (American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons) meeting in Minneapolis featured two well-known physicians speaking about Previstage and its use in accurately assessing early stage cancers. But with over 800 attendees and a huge number of seminars, presentations and booths, we had to make sure that the doctors’ voices were heard above the din.

Spotted Horse jumps the hurdle.

The first step was to develop an email campaign that proved to be “spot-on.” Knowing the challenges involved in accurately “staging” a colorectal cancer patient, we showed an image of a non-descript lab sample and asked physicians to tell us which of their stage II patients are really undetected stage III patients. We then offered an opportunity to hear two leading physicians explain why Previstage GCC was about to become a new standard in colorectal cancer staging. In addition to the email, attendees also received a postcard inviting them to the presentation.

The results: Good news for DiagnoCure, and for colorectal patients.

The message helped build excitement about the upcoming presentation, touting the expertise of the speakers and the groundbreaking importance of their topic. It worked: The email had an open rate of 38%, and a click-through rate of 4%. The presentation had twice the attendance of a competing test’s presentation.