Posted on March 26, 2013 by jmichaeldunn

Author’s Note: This article was originally posted on the eve of the 2013 International Dental Show. It got lost in the excitement of that massive dental industry event. Now that the IDS has concluded, let’s take a look again at telling your brand’s unique story through social media.

jmichaeldunn's avatarThe Dunn Show

In many respects, marketing communications is storytelling.  Every brand, service, and company has a story to tell and core values to communicate.  And we can tell that story through a variety of media.  I’ve written before about the importance of using social media strategically in dental product marketing.  The various social platforms available can be powerful outlets for telling your brand’s story if used purposefully in a coordinated, integrated way with the other media you employ.  Here are a few tips for telling your brand’s story via social media:

1.  Create content:  Content is king.  Sharing others’ content is fine, and it is a good tactic to help mobilize people to share your story in return.  However, remember that you are telling your own story. So, you have to ensure a steady diet of your original content is being fed to your audience.  Content can take the form of pictures…

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An American in Koeln – Views from the International Dental Show 2013 part 2

Posted on March 16, 2013 by jmichaeldunn

Editor’s Note:  Unfortunately I was unable to attend the IDS this year.  Very fortunately, my friend & colleague, Matthew Petchel, was in attendance and offered to serve as my eyes and ears at the show.  Here are some of the exciting products he found at IDS 2013.

Walking around the show floor at the IDS, it’s hard not to get excited and geek out at all of the different and exciting new products.  Here are few that I stumbled across while looking for espresso and strudel.

Acteon XMind IDS2013Acteon’s new XMIND Unity is pretty much your standard wall mounted X-ray unit except for a really cool feature called ACE technology. This patented feature analyzes in real-time the amount of X-ray emissions accumulated by the sensor, then freezes the image acquisition as soon as it has received enough information to provide a quality image. This virtually protects both the image and the patient from over-exposure, AND reduces radiation by up to 52% compared to standard exposure.  Pretty cool if it actually takes an image you can use.

IDS Stand 3Shape3Shape, Danish manufacturer of the open source 3D digital impression solutions for dentists, labs and clinics, introduced the new TRIOS Color digital impression solution. This new system, which is spray and powder free, sends scans to your PC, iPad, laptop or your favorite lab.  TRIOS creates scans that are more realistic and appear more like real teeth so you can see the difference between restorative materials such as metals, composites, enamels, etc. 3Shape claims fast and accurate performance. And judging by the traffic and excitement at their booth, I’d say they are on to something. I remember just two years ago, there were only a handful of 3D scanners  Today, I counted close to 15. Sirona is still the innovation leader in this exploding category, but there a lot of followers.

3M ESPE’s True definition scanner really isn’t anything new, but the price is pretty amazing. At a little over 10 grand, you get a great CAD/CAM acquisition device. With a claimed 99.8% fit rate, the technology is sound and like 3Shape, its open source software allows you to send your file anywhere you want.

KaVo Diagnocam IDS2013A consistent innovator, KaVo has introduced several new features to existing successful products. The most interesting to me is the new Diagnocam which uses a new technology in caries detection that claims to be 100% radiation free. Here’s how it works – a light shines through the tooth as a digital video camera captures the context of the image. The video then picks up dark spots and cracks that could be caries. I’m still not sure the market is ready for caries detection, as so many companies have tried to crack this nut. To me, the science is always fuzzy, the studies are somewhat limited and the skepticism is high. But, if it helps give better treatment, then I’m all for it.

3DPrinter IDS20133D Systems offered up the coolest thing I saw at the show. You’ve probably been reading a lot lately about 3D printing (that’s where a small, relatively inexpensive printer can print a three-dimensional object out of plastic – like a pen or a plastic cup). In the case of the cup, you would no longer have to buy 5,000 cups with your name or logo on them – now, if you had this kind of printer, you could print them yourself one at a time. Well, here at the IDS, I got to see 3D printing in action. First, I stopped by to see my friends at Sirona where I had my face scanned by their GALILEOS with Face Scan technology. They then sent that image of my face to 3D Systems where they made a USB stick with my head and face.

It's a mini Matthew

It’s a mini Matthew

Pretty cool. So what does it mean to you? If you or your lab had a 3D printer, you could make a quick 3D model of a complicated case for patient consultation, or you could even practice prepping on the model since the material feels and responds like human dental tissue. The possibilities are endless.

That’s all for now. I hope to see you at a US trade show or in Cologne in 2015.

About the author:  Matthew Petchel is a creative communications professional with over 20 years of experience, on countless projects, in just about every area of marketing communications – video, search engine optimization and marketing, research, marketing & advertising, design, branding, media relations, strategy development and more.  You can connect with him via brandtarget.com.

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An American in Koeln – Views from the International Dental Show 2013

Posted on March 14, 2013 by jmichaeldunn

Editor’s Note:  Unfortunately I was unable to attend the IDS this year.  Very fortunately, my friend & colleague, Matthew Petchel, is in attendance and will be sharing his views from the show here over the next several days. 

IDS Concourse

Held every two years in picturesque (and chilly this year) Cologne, Germany, the International Dental Show is the biggest and most-talked about dental trade show in the world. This is where manufacturers, dentists, international distributors and key people meet to celebrate the industry and the people in it. A mentor in the industry told me a few years back that if you really want to be ‘in’ this industry, you have to come to the IDS. Think of the IDS like the Detroit Auto Show circa 1950. Except Cologne has a working government, running water and there aren’t any houses on fire.

IDS Stand 3Shape

Now you’ve probably been to a dental trade show in the US before. And the IDS is just like that, except it’s completely different. Sure there are manufacturers and dentists and speakers and product launches and free giveaways, but the sheer magnitude of the IDS grabs you by the eyeballs. At more than 500,000 square feet of exhibit space, it’s roughly the size of downtown Seattle. Seriously, there are a lot of people (some estimates say 20,000 per day) and a lot of exhibitors. But the main thing I always notice is the festive atmosphere that surrounds the show. The energy is amazing and people are zipping about, deals are being done, espresso is being slurped, and new products are being launched by companies you have never even heard of. Which makes for a unique experience. Without a doubt, it’s really cool and a sight to be seen.

Like most trade shows, different people come for different reasons, but everyone shares one thing in common –  a love of the dental industry. That’s what connects us. And the fact that you never know what could happen at the IDS. I remember two years ago I had dinner in 100-year-old family restaurant with a single bowling lane in the basement (thanks Suni). Four years ago, I ran into an old German client and we drank Kölsch 6 ounces at a time until late at night talking about that brilliant ad campaign management was afraid to run. Six years ago, a group of clients and I ended up at a party with 2,000 people dancing to Bon Jovi’s Living On A Prayer. Clearly anything can happen and it serves to bring us closer together to the people we work with (or used to work with or want to work with).

One thing is certain at the IDS – the days are long, and the nights go by fast. So you have to be prepared for the electric energy and excitement that comes with it. The good news is, you have two years to rest up for the next one. No more excuses – make 2015 your year to experience this for yourself. Rock on.

Next, I’ll report on new products being launched at the IDS.

About the author:  Matthew Petchel is a creative communications professional with over 20 years of experience, on countless projects, in just about every area of marketing communications – video, search engine optimization and marketing, research, marketing & advertising, design, branding, media relations, strategy development and more.  You can connect with him via brandtarget.com.  

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