| Winner | Fisher & Paykel Healthcare |
| Marketing initiative | F&P Solo: innovative and intuitive |
| Marketing partners | Beehive Creative, Designworks, Borderless, A Perfect Curve Creative, Kantar, USIM, Atlantis Health |
| Finalists | Abe’s Bagels, Lion NZ, NZME, Whittaker’s, Zuru Group |
| Judges’ comments | “The judges recognised the smart innovation in distribution, particularly how it helped overcome a clear price disadvantage. They also valued the honesty of the case in acknowledging what went wrong as well as what went right, with the sales funnel making the results especially clear and credible.” |
Lifestyle aesthetic brings warmth
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare used the visual language of homewares and interior design in its first ever B2C campaign for F&P Solo – aiming to drive parallel demand among doctors and patients.
F&P Solo is Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s most advanced CPAP mask. It features the world’s first AutoFit headgear, automatically adjusting to hold the mask in place.
To deliver obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) therapy, patients wear a mask over their nose and/or mouth connected to a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine to help them breathe while asleep.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare competes against much larger players offering a range of diagnostic equipment, masks and CPAP machines.
Rather than follow suit, F&P Healthcare has strategically focused on the mask. Its research shows this piece of equipment is the most important factor in therapy adherence – poor fit, discomfort, complexity or overtightening can discourage use.
Launching F&P Solo was a key initiative in its business strategy.
Simplicity meets exceptional fit
F&P Solo delivers on the ultimate goal of CPAP masks: simplicity with an exceptional fit. Solo’s innovation is the result of years of research and development, and comes at a cost – it’s the most expensive mask in its category.
The path to purchase for CPAP masks is complex. Rather than just the patient or their healthcare provider choosing the mask, durable medical equipment dealers are often responsible for recommending them.
F&P’s strategy was to drive parallel demand with patients requesting the mask and doctors prescribing it, with the help of the company’s first B2C campaign. Its marketing would need to cut through for this new brand to gain a foothold.
Instead of the clinical sterility seen in most OSA marketing, F&P Solo’s visual brand language took inspiration from homeware, lifestyle and interior design, with a warm and minimalist aesthetic.
F&P also coloured key product elements yellow/gold, for a more human, approachable experience.
The company invested in a multi-channel campaign. Partnering with US-based media agency USIM, it tailored messaging and creative for each audience, platform and stage of the funnel.
F&P used the introduction of a new mask to build broader brand awareness, strengthen consideration and reinforce its reputation for quality and innovation – setting the stage for future releases.
In terms of brand distinctiveness and perceived quality, F&P caught up to, and in some areas surpassed, its biggest competitor.
This wasn’t just another product launch. It was the beginning of a brand-led marketing strategy.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 88, Sept-Nov 2026. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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