Never underestimate the power of narrative in healthcare marketing and branding. No matter the medium, storytelling is still one of the best ways to meaningfully connect with audiences.  People love stories.  It’s how we’ve communicated with each other for thousands of years.What is your organization’s story?  Do your associates know it?  Does your CEO tell the story in a compelling way?At SHSMD 2012, the Mayo Clinic’s Amy Read more »

In a previous post, we shared examples of a branding campaign we launched for HCA Virginia, the first elements in a wide-reaching campaign aimed to align its high quality hospitals under one brand name.We're excited to share the next television commercials for the health system's branding campaign. These spots continue the brand repositioning strategy while building awareness for HCA Virginia's key service lines: cardiac, cancer, orthopedics and Read more »

Our president, Will Flynn, was recently featured in a documentary on graphic design in Richmond, which directed by a VCU student, Jamie Bourne, along with Bekky Rage and Rachel Kim. Will is a VCU graphic design alum (Go Rams!), has taught at VCU, and regularly speaks to students about the communications, healthcare, and design industries.httpv://vimeo.com/36195746In the documentary, Will talks about the importance of specialization: that by Read more »

Take a moment to think about the following brands: Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola, Exxon, McDonald’s. What do they all have in common besides giant war chests, near-global ubiquity and a preference for questionable business practices?Consistency.  There’s a very good reason why every Apple retail store looks exactly the same, or why every McDonald’s bag faithfully adheres to the red and yelow color scheme. True, consistency can be boring and predictable, Read more »

In our Richmond metro market, two local healthcare brands advertised during the 2011 Super Bowl.One of the hospitals told the press in the days before the Big Game that the cost for producing the spot was very affordable – perhaps to avoid complaints from board members that the hospital was throwing its money away.It's exciting to have your brand be on the Super Bowl. All those eyeballs. All the potential. But what about after those Read more »

On average, executives spend 2 full days per week in meetings. According to the Wall Street Journal, 92% of executives work from home at night, on weekends – even on vacation. And 60% of us feel overwhelmed by the amount of information we must process on a daily basis.So when do you have time to find inspiration? And where?With deadlines looming and budgets shrinking, it's time to look outside of healthcare for a little fresh air.Where Read more »

I've been reading an amazing biography of Ben Franklin. Talk about an underachiever. (Sarcasm.) He grew up poor, couldn't go to college, yet ended up co-founding a nation.Franklin applied a natural curiosity and a sense of vivid detail to every project he undertook, whether it be his studies with electricity or even coming up with the idea of a "matching grant," a technique fundraisers use today.Franklin is credited with founding America's Read more »

Like the rest of us in the advertising/marketing/communications field, I love great ad campaigns. But I have a soft spot in my heart for work that's so bad it's good.PC Matic is my new favorite that falls into the latter category.Bad campaigns all revolve around a cliche. In this case, it's the bumbling husband. (Think Family Guy, The Simpsons, King of Queens, and 80-90% of all TV sitcoms.)Said bumbling husband has a computer issue and Read more »

I just finished Gary Vaynerchuk's new book, The Thank You Economy. For those of you not familiar with Gary, he's the genius that used social media and amazing customer experiences to turn his family's online wine business into one of the most successful in the country.Social media gurus are a dime a dozen. What's refreshing about Gary is that he walks the walk. His success with Wine Library qualifies him as a true expert in a field of charlatans. Read more »

Healthcare, like most industries these days, is dollar-conscious of every investment. If it were up to you, would you spend a little more to get a lot more out of your campaigns? Read more »