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 an earlier post, we showed you 3 ads that we think are spot-on when it comes to marketing to guys. Thinking about making dads the butt of your joke? Think again. Stay-at-home dads are increasingly more responsible for the products and services their household buys (including healthcare). We need to show our "dad moms" respect. Here are a few brands we think got it wrong.1.Ragu’s “Mom’s the Word on Dinner” campaign was a definite flop. Read more »

Conducting an RFP for an advertising agency-of-record can be a bit like reality TV matchmaking: an exhaustive exercise placed on a speed dating timeline and subjected to constant group scrutiny. Then, a big show around the final decision on the new agency. Yet, the process rarely produces a lasting match, leaving one or both parties to repeat the process.Sound familiar? There are a few opportunities to make a search for a marketing firm partner Read more »

When you’re facing a challenge, do you ask others in similar situations for advice? The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development’s By The Numbers report did – 193 of your peers to be exact — to help answer key questions about healthcare marketing departments.How does your marketing budget compare? Are others allocating funds differently? Is your department smaller or bigger than it should be? Which measurement Read more »

Continuous learning is the best investment you can make for your organization and yourself.Organizations like The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) are excellent resources for sharing ideas, learning best practices and spotting trends.This year, SHSMD's annual conference heads west to Phoenix Sept. 14-17.Whatever your challenge or interest, over 150 sessions, workshops and roundtables delve into healthcare's Read more »

As healthcare marketers, we stay on top of trends to predict (as much as possible anyway) market shifts that could affect bottom lines. With new data from the 2010 Census, AdAge recently noted Five Surprising Facts Marketers Should Know. It seems easier to make the leap from these facts to how they will impact brands like smart phones and purses. But healthcare marketing always seems to be a laggard in activating trends. Our question is: what Read more »

In health care, the "Golden Hour" describes that window of time after the onset of a heart attack when getting medical treatment is critical in avoiding significant damage to the heart muscle.Health care marketers have their own critical window – the "Golden Moment" – when prospective patients are using the web to make decisions about their health care, such as which provider to choose.Search marketing is the fastest growing and largest Read more »

While the RFP process is a necessary evil, there is an opportunity to make it less complex and more tolerable for everyone involved. Writing the RFP, determining who gets it, and taking questions can be excessively time consuming.

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Many of the objections we hear about social media (or marketing, for that matter) from Doubting Thomases are based on false arguments or tactical thinking. Here are two examples of how to properly re-frame a Doubting Thomas question about the meaningfulness of social media: Read more »