Brand Box Medical was formed at an intersection of necessity and providence.

We started out in 2016 as a generalised marketing agency serving SMEs. Later that year, a plastic surgeon from Johannesburg approached to ask if we could manage the social media marketing for his practice.

We initially declined as we weren't familiar with any marketing guidelines and restrictions around the medical profession.

Most would have moved on, but three months later the plastic surgeon followed up to see if we had a change of heart. This had to be a sign of some sort, and a relatively empty client book at the time made it a clear one for founder Lee Nair.

Lee proceeded to swiftly immerse himself in the ethical and regulatory legislation around marketing for the medical profession.

Starting conservatively, the initial imperative was not to get a queue of patients for the client; instead it was to make no missteps - to first do no harm.

Lee devised the following set of heuristics to serve as a guardrail against any inadvertent non-compliance:

1. No exaggerated claims
2. No flamboyant language
3. Stick to the facts
4. Don't disclose prices

Marketing flair in the form of brand building, engagement and lead generation was gradually phased in as our confidence in the restrictions and allowances of medical marketing grew.

With little advertising or direct solicitation, a continuous trickle of doctors started to sign up with us. Word was somehow getting around.

For some years, we continued to serve SME and medical clients in parallel. Finally a decision was taken in 2023 to switch solely to medical professionals.

The reason? The medical profession is a sanctuary where facts still matter and marketing could be engaging without being inane. This on its own has an intrinsic appeal and isn't always the case for other industries.

By this time we had also developed a keen sense of what works and what doesn't when marketing a healthcare professional. Quite frankly, we found ourselves able to get traction far more consistently for doctors than entrepreneurs.

Finally, dealing with healthcare practitioners was also preferred from an engagement point of view. The fit felt right on all fronts.

So where does this presently leave us? We are now a nimble team of four serving healthcare professionals across three regions.

...and the plastic surgeon is still our client to this day.