Medtronic Neuromodulation produced the first patient marketing video produced entirely in Spanish, using Spanish speaking patients and physicians. Blue 60 Pictures spent 10 days in El Paso, Texas to produce four videos: two for Neurostimulation Therapy for pain and two for Intrathecal Drug Delivery Therapy for pain. We came back with stories of hope and struggles to find better pain relief.
Angela Bernal, our Medtronic client and native Spanish speaker, skillfully conducted each interview. We asked Angela if there were any differences in how Spanish and English speaking patients describe what it’s like to live with pain. She said, “In general, Latin patients speak on a more emotional level and bring up the family component faster and more often than English speakers.” Latin patients also are more concerned about, “how it [my pain] affects my family and how it has been a burden to them.”
Having produced many patient marketing and educational videos for Medtronic in English, we were struck by the emotion of each El Paso patient as they spoke about family. English-speaking patients are also concerned about how their pain affects family, but they are typically more at ease talking about less emotional things, such as how their pain impacts their work life.
While we didn’t share a common language with the El Paso families, we did share a common belief in the power of a good story, which was not lost in translation.
Armando
At first glance, Armando might look a bit rough around the edges, but he has a heart as big as Texas. Armando, who has lived with a neurostimulator for several years, spends his time repairing and restoring motorcycles and giving back to the city he loves. At Christmas time, he organizes a motorcycle parade in El Paso, where over 2,500 riders collect and raise money for Toys for Tots. Armando told us his neurostimulator has given him the energy to make a difference.
Ramiro
Since receiving his drug delivery pump, Ramiro spends much more time with his baby—a semi-restored El Camino. The car’s signature feature is a custom made bucket seat, which swivels around, making it easier for Ramiro to get in and out. And when he’s not working on his car, Ramiro likes to putter around the house, go for walks with his wife and take an occasional trip to the casino. Ramiro told us that after several failed pain therapies, the drug pump has helped him to enjoy his life again.
Dr. Viesca
Taking a slightly different approach than their English-speaking counterparts, bi-lingual physicians, Dr. Viesca and Dr. Villarreal spoke about the benefits of Medtronic’s pain therapies as a way to improve a patient’s family relationship.
Dr. Viesca often speaks about the strength of family and how family relationships are critical to improving the life of his patients. He stressed how Medtronic’s pain therapies can often improve the family dynamic by reducing the patient’s pain.
Medtronic Partners with Blue 60 Pictures
Medtronic’s Angela Bernal said, “Because they have the knowledge and background with our therapies, Blue 60 understood what we needed to communicate and what we needed to stay away from. They are very personable and understand the business side.”
“Blue 60 was very flexible and understood what we needed to get from the testimonials, and they were sensitive to the particularities of the Spanish patients, said Angela. ”
And when we shot life style footage with the patients, Angela said, “They understood what we can have the patients do in terms of regulatory and legal. I was very happy with Blue 60 Pictures.”
