Inside the making of Inspire Sleep’s integrated campaign with Chock Chapple.

By Lindsey Ingram 
VP, Client Experience 
BarkleyOKRP 

and Dani Row 
VP, Public Relations 
BarkleyOKRP 

Obstructive sleep apnea is a widespread, life-altering condition. And for millions of people, the first-line solution simply doesn’t work. 

For Inspire Medical Systems, that reality created both a challenge and an opportunity: how do you reach people who are exhausted, skeptical, and conditioned to scroll past anything that feels like “another medical ad”?  

The answer required a deeper understanding of audience behavior, a commitment to authentic storytelling, and tight integration across paid, owned, and earned channels. 

Together, Inspire and BarkleyOKRP built an integrated campaign that fused cultural relevance, radical authenticity, and full-funnel performance. 

As presented at the ANA Creator & Influencer Marketing and Digital & Social Committee Meeting, here are the key insights any brand can learn from the work. 

1. Start with how people actually consume media. Not how we wish they did.

Inspire’s target audience includes adults aged 35–64 with obstructive sleep apnea. Research showed that they are heavy media users, but largely passive ones. 

This audience spends significant time with linear and streaming TV and is active on social platforms, but primarily in a browsing or observational mode: 

– 68% turn to linear or streaming TV to see what’s on 

– 71% browse social posts 

– 47% read content and comments 

They are not seeking out health content proactively. If messaging doesn’t immediately connect to their own experience, it’s easy to ignore. 

This insight reframed the challenge: content needed to feel personally relevant in order to earn attention and engagement. 

Brand takeaway: Engagement starts with relevance, especially for audiences who consume media passively. 

2. Authentic stories create credibility you can’t manufacture. 

Working with BarkleyOKRP, Inspire identified an unexpected opportunity: Chock Chapple, a winner of a popular reality TV dating show, had been an Inspire therapy user for years. 

He wasn’t just open to partnership. He was already talking about his experience organically. 

Chock’s public profile, combined with an audience demographic that closely aligned with Inspire’s core patient base, made the partnership a natural fit.  

His willingness to share his personal experience added credibility that traditional endorsements can’t replicate. 

Brand takeaway: Authenticity matters most when the spokesperson’s lived experience aligns with the product and the audience. 

3. Integration across teams strengthens the work. 

Once the partnership was established, integrated planning became essential. 

Strategy, communications planning, client experience, creative, production, media, social, and PR collaborated on a unified approach. The goal was to tell one story, expressed appropriately across channels. 

1. “Chock’s Secret” highlighted how treating OSA improved Chock’s health and confidence 
2. “Whispermonial”, told from the perspective of Joan Vassos, Chock’s fiancée, addressed the bed-partner experience in a relatable way.”
3. Social content leaned into relationship dynamics and genuine brand affinity 
4. PR aligned messaging with cultural moments and media interest 

Each execution served a specific role while reinforcing the same core narrative. 

Brand takeaway: Integrated teams enable consistency, clarity, and efficiency across channels. 

4. Align media strategy with moments of high attention. 

The media plan focused on meeting audiences where attention was already concentrated. 

The campaign launched during the Season Two premiere of a popular reality TV dating show, with coordinated placements across linear TV on ABC, Hulu streaming, paid search, and social. 

Search strategy anticipated real-time curiosity, with tailored ad groups and copy designed to capture interest as viewers searched during the broadcast.  

Traffic was directed to a custom landing page featuring Chock’s story and additional educational content. 

Social activation prioritized authentic collaborations with Chock as a real Inspire patient, rather than simply repurposing TV creative. 

Brand takeaway: Timing and relevance matter as much as channel selection. 

5. Cultural awareness extends the life of a campaign. 

Earned media played a key role in extending reach beyond paid placements. 

PR outreach was carefully timed around the reality show premiere, with embargoed pitches to consumer outlets and coordinated outreach to advertising and industry trades. 

Later, when public speculation about Chock and Joan’s relationship surfaced online, the team monitored the moment and responded strategically. By providing context and reinforcing the Inspire partnership, coverage shifted toward more accurate narratives and generated a second wave of national media attention. 

In total, the campaign generated 15 stories across national consumer and trade outlets, delivering more than 5 million earned media impressions. 

Brand takeaway: Staying closely attuned to the cultural moment creates opportunities beyond the original plan. 

Measurable impact. 

The campaign delivered strong performance across channels: 

1. A 377% increase in paid search clicks immediately following the premiere 
2. More than 300,000 social video views in under one week 
3. Positive lifts in brand familiarity, favorability, and purchase intent in a Q4 brand lift study 

The combination of relevance, authenticity, and integration contributed to sustained performance throughout Q3 and Q4. 

Continuing the conversation. 

Inspire continues to focus on raising awareness about treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea. Particularly for patients who struggle with CPAP. 

This campaign demonstrated that meeting audiences where they already are, with information that reflects real experiences, can help people take the next step in their treatment journey. 

Sometimes that step is learning more. 
Sometimes it’s starting a conversation with a doctor. 

Both matter. 

— 

Are you looking for a partner who knows how to turn authentic stories into integrated campaigns that drive real results? Contact our Chief Growth Officer, Jason Parks, at jparks@barkleyokrp.com to start the conversation.