Cochlear's Hearprint campaign launched a Chrome extension in Australia in 2018 that calibrated online audio to each listener's unique hearing ability,
Cochlear Hearprint Turns Every Listener's Hearing Into a Unique Sound Profile
Cochlear's Hearprint campaign, launched in Australia in March 2018, is an integrated digital initiative that introduced a free Google Chrome extension calibrating online video and music to each individual listener's unique hearing ability, raising awareness of cochlear implants among the 3.6 million Australians living with some form of hearing loss.
Hearprint works by presenting users with a series of inputs that map their personal hearing profile. Based on those responses, the application adjusts audio frequencies in real time so that online films, television programmes, and music are tailored to the listener's ears rather than broadcast at a uniform volume. This approach mirrors the core principle behind cochlear implants: unlike conventional hearing aids, which simply amplify all surrounding sound, a cochlear implant recalibrates an individual's hearing to accommodate their unique auditory needs. Hearprint translated that clinical distinction into an everyday digital experience accessible to anyone with a Chrome browser.
The campaign was developed by CHE Proximity in collaboration with audiologists and sound engineers, with a stated commercial objective of attracting 1,843 highly qualified leads into Cochlear's sales funnel over twelve months. It launched alongside a dedicated content series — the first ever calibrated to users' unique hearing profiles — comprising short documentaries that tell the stories of real people whose lives were transformed by cochlear implants. The campaign sits at the intersection of health technology, creative storytelling, and performance marketing, and carries a Clapboard Score of 78 out of 100, reflecting strong strategic and creative execution. Hearprint represents a meaningful evolution in how Cochlear communicates the difference between amplification and true sound restoration to Australian audiences living with progressive or sudden hearing loss.
Cochlear built Hearprint on a single, arresting consumer truth: no two people hear the world the same way. Janet Menzies, Cochlear's general manager for Australia and New Zealand, articulated this directly, as reported by The Drum. That truth exposed a gap in how hearing health had conventionally been communicated in Australia — public messaging had long focused on volume loss in general terms, rarely accounting for the highly individual nature of auditory perception that cochlear implants are specifically engineered to address.
Australia's hearing health landscape provides the strategic backdrop. Some 3.6 million Australians live with some form of hearing loss, a figure that shaped both the campaign's creative premise and its media ambition. Rather than speaking broadly to that population, Hearprint was designed to generate a personalised experience that made the abstract clinical benefit of sound calibration immediately tangible. By allowing a user to hear their favourite online content through a profile tuned to their own ears, the campaign demonstrated the value of a cochlear implant before a single medical conversation had taken place.
The strategy also carried a precise performance dimension. The campaign set out to deliver 1,843 highly qualified leads into Cochlear's sales funnel across twelve months of activity — a specificity that reflects a sophisticated understanding of the healthcare purchase journey in Australia, where decisions around cochlear implantation involve significant clinical, financial, and emotional investment. CHE Proximity had previously collaborated with Cochlear on the 2016–2017 campaign known as The Hearing Test in Disguise, a short film that functioned as a disguised hearing assessment depending on the viewer's auditory ability. Hearprint extended that creative lineage by moving from passive viewing into active, personalised sound calibration, deepening the audience's direct involvement with Cochlear's core technology.
Hearprint operates on two interconnected creative levels: the software itself and the documentary content built to run through it. On screen, the campaign launches with the story of Jennie Brand-Miller, a leading nutritional scientist and Professor of Human Nutrition at the University of Sydney, who endured twenty years of progressive hearing loss before receiving a cochlear implant that allowed her to continue her academic career and her pioneering work developing the Glycemic Index. The second documentary follows Andy King, a high-performance surf coach whose hearing was suddenly destroyed by a coward punch, leaving his identity and livelihood in jeopardy until a cochlear implant restored his ability to work and led him to become Surf Australia's most esteemed coach. These are not dramatised reconstructions — they are documentary portraits designed to be experienced through each viewer's personalised Hearprint audio profile, so the act of watching becomes a direct demonstration of what Cochlear's technology restores.
Both films were directed by Jonathon Kneebone of The Glue Society, with production handled by Revolver under producer Will O'Rourke. Michael Ritchie served as managing director and executive producer, with Josh Mullens as executive producer and head of projects. Producers Isabella Vitelli and Jasmin Helliar oversaw day-to-day production, while cinematography was shared between Alex Harrod and Jordan Maddocks. Post-production was completed at The Glue Society Studios, with editing by The Glue Society, colour grading by Trish Cahill, and flame work by Viv Baker. Sound design — critically important given the campaign's entire premise — was handled by Kathleen Burrows at Noise International. The integration of audiologists and sound engineers into the development process ensured that the frequency calibration underpinning the Hearprint extension met the clinical standards Cochlear's brand requires. The campaign was entered in the 2018 Clio Awards in the Direct — Digital/Mobile category, as confirmed by the Clio Awards, recognising the technical and creative fusion at its core.
Hearprint produced measurable performance outcomes well ahead of its stated benchmarks. At eight weeks into an eight-month paid-media period, the campaign had already attracted 40,345 unique visitors to the campaign website. Average time on site reached nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds — reported as 265 per cent higher than the average session duration recorded on Cochlear's main website. Additionally, 4,158 completed Hearprint hearing calibrations were recorded within that same early window. These figures collectively point to an audience that was not passively browsing but actively engaging with a tool that made hearing loss personally relevant. The depth of that engagement — nearly ten minutes per session on a campaign site — reflects the degree to which the interactive sound calibration mechanic succeeded in holding attention in a healthcare category where converting awareness into consideration is structurally difficult.
The campaign's commercial objective was precise: 1,843 highly qualified leads delivered into Cochlear's sales funnel over twelve months. The early engagement data suggests the campaign was generating the qualified audience necessary to meet that target, though full twelve-month lead conversion figures are not available in public sources. Campaign Brief included Hearprint among CHE Proximity Sydney's notable work in its 2019 Hot List, as reported by Campaign Brief, and The Drum covered the launch with positive editorial framing, as reported by The Drum. The campaign was entered in the 2018 Clio Awards in the Direct — Digital/Mobile category, according to the Clio Awards. No verified wins from Cannes Lions, the Effies, The One Show, D&AD, the Webby Awards, or WARC Awards have been identified. Structurally, Hearprint's effectiveness rests on its ability to collapse the distance between product demonstration and media consumption — a rare achievement in health and hearing care advertising in Australia.
Hearprint is a 2018 Australian campaign by Cochlear that introduced a Google Chrome extension calibrating online audio to each user's unique hearing profile. Developed with audiologists and sound engineers, it aimed to raise awareness of cochlear implants among the 3.6 million Australians living with some form of hearing loss, blending health technology with personalised digital media.
The Hearprint Chrome extension works by presenting users with a series of hearing inputs to build a personal audio profile. It then adjusts audio frequencies in real time across online video and music content so that playback is tailored to the listener's individual hearing ability, demonstrating the principle behind cochlear implant technology rather than simple volume amplification.
At eight weeks into its paid-media run, Hearprint had generated 40,345 unique campaign-website visitors and 4,158 completed hearing calibrations. Average session duration was nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, reported as 265 per cent above Cochlear's standard website average. The campaign's twelve-month objective was to deliver 1,843 highly qualified leads into Cochlear's sales funnel.
Jonathon Kneebone of The Glue Society directed both Hearprint documentaries. Production was handled by Revolver with producer Will O'Rourke. The films tell the real stories of Jennie Brand-Miller, a University of Sydney nutrition professor, and Andy King, a surf coach, both of whom regained their lives through cochlear implants.
Hearprint was entered in the 2018 Clio Awards in the Direct — Digital/Mobile category, according to the Clio Awards. Campaign Brief also included it in CHE Proximity Sydney's 2019 Hot List, as reported by Campaign Brief. No verified wins from Cannes Lions, D&AD, the Effies, The One Show, the Webby Awards, or WARC Awards have been publicly identified.
Hearprint highlighted that cochlear implants recalibrate hearing to an individual's unique auditory needs rather than simply increasing volume as conventional hearing aids do. The Chrome extension made this distinction tangible by personalising online audio to each user's hearing profile, turning a clinical product benefit into a direct, self-guided experience available to any Australian with a browser.
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