In the documentary, Will talks about the importance of specialization: that by becoming an expert, it allows more freedom of exploration – both in design and the strategy that informs the design. Will is an advocate for specialization of your craft, whether it is design, law, or accounting. Franklin Street is a strategic marketing firm with deep expertise in the health and wellness industries. We help hospital systems, biotech firms and other health organizations overcome complex brand challenges and identify new revenue opportunities.

One of the great ironies about creativity is the freedom that comes from the discipline of focus and specialization. This is true in two different ways. First, by choosing to narrow your palette and work within a medium like oils or a form like a print advertisement, you free your creativity to expand to fill your vessel. In other words, your brain won’t toy with a sonnet when you’ve committed to a haiku.

Second, by choosing to specialize, you accrue knowledge that builds upon itself and drives inspiration, insightful strategy, and produces work that has few equals. That knowledge base you cultivate positions you as a sought-out expert – and those who seek to work with you are most likely to listen to you and abide by your expertise, which provides you even more fruitful knowledge.

We are honored to be a part of this project along with our Richmond design and advertising colleagues. A special shout out to the other firms featured in the documentary: J H I, riggs ward, and 1717 Design Group.

This past autumn, Huntington expanded its advanced cardiac program. The hospital’s cardiology services include diagnostic cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology and radio ablation.  They are in the process of building a second cath lab and will soon offer elective angioplasty, a huge development for any hospital.

Huntington Hospital will be able to provide most invasive cardiac procedures short of open heart surgery. Additionally, 2011 hailed a new designation as a teaching hospital for Hofstra.

In short, the cardiac program is comprehensive.

So what could be the problem? Consumers in this area have an abundance of choice. There are about ten hospitals within thirty miles of Huntington, and New York City is just about an hour train ride away.

Our job? Show residents in this area that they are lucky to have Huntington as their local hospital offering both state of the art services and a caring staff.

After extensive market research, we discovered that residents there wanted to be educated on how to stay healthy, so we focused our campaign on preventative care urging residents  to develop a relationship with a local cardiologist. By creating a strong tie to both the Huntington Hospital and  a specific doctor,  we knew locals would stay in town for major and minor heart care alike.

To answer this call, our creative team developed work that promoted the urgency of heart care and the benefits of preventative care through direct mail, newspaper advertising and flash banners. With a strong call to action and a dramatic viewpoint from an emergency care patient, the ads offered a strong incentive to choose Huntington and choose early.

So what is the lesson? Creating ties through preventative care may result in long term relationships. And a big fish may still need to strike the right chords if the pond is big enough.

UPDATE:

Franklin Street recently won three awards from the Annual Cardiovascular Advertising Awards including  the Judges Award – the competition’s highest award –  for the Total Advertising Campaign developed for North Shore-LIJ‘s Huntington Hospital.

UPDATE:

Franklin Street’s print campaign for Huntington Hospital’s cardiac services is January’s cover story for Healthcare Marketing Today. 

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, but it also works. It preys on our collective need for familiarity, creating a simple set of symbols for complex associations.

By keeping your brand identity consistent, you are removing one of the most important barriers between you and your market. Repetitive exposure to the same symbols allows your consumers to quickly and easily recognize your core message. This is why all your communications—whether it’s an ad campaign, a website, or the waiting room—must be visually consistent with each other. Your brand changes from being an unknown entity to a familiar presence. Familiarity builds trust. When people trust you, they are more inclined to listen.

There are other consequences to ignoring brand consistency. Your customers should be able to follow a clear path between your collateral, your advertising and your physical spaces. Without those clear links, your organization risks credibility and appears disorganized. At worst, consumers might think you’re new to the market, causing them to avoid you altogether.

Take a look at a few non-healthcare examples of consistent brand identities:

You can clearly see the narrative thread that connects every aspect of Apple. Consistency has turned their brand identity into a brand experience, which is one of the reasons why they’re one of the most valuable companies in the world. Note how their advertising, website, products and retail spaces align harmoniously to present a unified image—an image that is unmistakably Apple.

Similarly, there’s a very good reason why Pepsi has been unable to top Coca-Cola ever since their ridiculous 2008 logo change—and it’s coincidentally the same reason why New Coke was such an utter disaster. For the most part, straying from your core brand identity will inevitably end in nothing but tears, lost revenue and confused consumers.

Healthcare marketing is no different. Brand consistency leads to trust and acceptance. So when Centra—a leading three-hospital system in Virginia—added a new hospital and expanded to serve 13 counties, we created a visual identity that unified the system but allowed flexibility for growing service lines.

After Centra’s new identity launch, research showed staff morale, name recognition and patient volume for key services increased. In fact, consistent brand extensions actually proved to strengthen the overall brand and helped increase recognition. Finally, consistent branding strategies helped Centra save money on brand development and overall marketing expenses. After all, tweaking a brand identity with every new service line or center of excellence may mean you have to work harder to help consumers make the connection with your hospitals. And why do that, especially in lean times?

Know a brand that’s growing effectively? Or an extension that’s stretched a little too far from the brand? Please share.

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 30 seconds? (Or, in the case of Chrysler, two minutes?)

That’s when the real magic happens.

Or doesn’t, as the case may be.

Advertising is a form of branding. And branding is a form of culture, a way of illustrating the intangibles that define your organization/product/service.

Some brands are meant for the Super Bowl. (Think beer, junk food.) Instant gratification and products simple enough that the humor and outrageousness can trump the need to extol the product’s virtues.

Other brands (like healthcare) require more from the audience than a quick laugh for there to be a chain reaction of awareness, preference, usage and loyalty.

Hospitals launch ad campaigns all the time. It doesn’t matter if they launch on the Super Bowl, American Idol finale, or in the local Penny Saver. Running an ad is one thing. Building a brand and having audiences build onto the brand story is another thing altogether.

The next campaign you develop, ask yourself: after we launch the campaign, what happens next?

What’s your plan for engaging nurses, physicians and volunteers? What’s the  plan for getting them to be advocates of  your brand? What about your patients? These audiences make up your organization’s brand, after all.

Cobbling together money to run a TV spot is one thing.

Building, shaping and cultivating a brand of significance is something altogether different.

Clint Eastwood is an American icon. This two-minute commercial is a passionate tome that tugs heartstrings and appeals to virtues bigger than just selling cars. The response after the Super Bowl has been dramatic. Some people felt the spot was politically-motivated. Who cares. It’s brilliant.

Dogs have replaced babies as the go-to for suckering eyeballs. VW strikes back after last year’s pint-sized Darth Vader spot with an overweight pooch on a comeback. Beautiful tie-in with last year’s Star Wars’ theme.

Audi’s “Vampire Party” spot is simple, smart, and uber trendy, right down to the hashtag #SOLONGVAMPIRES.

GE has consistently held the distinction of great advertising for years. This spot features GE technicians who meet with cancer survivors who benefited from the equipment the GE technicians made. Below is the extended version.

You can’t get more ubiqiutious than the Toyota Camry. The brand turns a negative brand attribute into this smart, touching spot emphasizing the Camry connections we have.

Unfortunately, Toyota ruined all that new brand love with this spot, which feels like it was done by a different agency for a different car company for a different Super Bowl:

Acura and Honda went the nostalgia route by featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Matthew Broderick in a pair of spots that complemented one another, even if most people don’t know that Honda owns Acura (or even cares):

Everybody seems to love this Doritos’ spot, even if the premise is murder. (Hey, we’re animal lovers at Franklin Street. Just sayin’.)

Now, for the lowbrow crowd. First, Beckham:

Next, FIAT:

A team favorite was the music video by the band OK Go that featured Chevy. Snippets of this video were featured in one of Chevy’s Super Bowl commercials, so technically it was featured in the Big Game. (This video was released just after the Big Game and already has millions of views.) OK Go is getting a lot of press for its innovative music videos. With this video, you can see why the press is well-deserved.

4 Super Bowl Takeaways for Healthcare Brands:

1. Don’t be afraid of the reveal. Some of the strongest commercials played at this Super Bowl teased the product until the very end. If advertising doesn’t ask any of the viewer, then the commercial is easy to ignore/dismiss. For your healthcare advertising, talk up to your audience; she can handle complexity and intrigue.

2. Be real time. The Client Eastwood spot for Detroit auto and even Audi’s “Vampires” spot hit the American consciousness for the Twilight and True Blood phenom. In healthcare, it’s easy to get caught up in support points, technology shots and word choices that won’t upset the doctors. Put your audience first, though, and lean on what informs their world, interests and passions. If it’s vampires, so be it. You can bet your healthcare TV spot will be noticed.

3. Consensus can kill great work. Our 20+ team got together a few days after the Super Bowl to review the commercials and eat barbecue. (Yes, it’s tough work being a Franklin Streeter.) There was little consensus from the group about which spots were the best. The Clint Eastwood/Detroit spot, for example, had a polarizing effect on our group: some thought it was among the best advertising of all time, and others thought it was boring and lagged. Many healthcare organizations are consensus-driven, and advertising can bear the brunt of the consensus culture. When possible, develop a small, core team of decision-makers and run to the finish line.

4. It’s what happens after  your spot airs that matters most. Most healthcare brands can’t advertise  on the Super Bowl, but every ad campaign has a “launch.” What happens after your campaign first airs is largely dependent on the brand culture of your organization, and, to a lesser degree, your role as a marketer in helping to harness that culture to add to the brand conversation. Read this to learn more about the power that culture and building on the brand story can have in healthcare.

Maybe you should.

According to NBCU, which does an annual brand power index study, Harley tops the list of brands that are doing all the right things to connect with women.

Harley’s new “My Time to Ride” campaign documents women from across different lifestyles and life stages learning how to ride a motorcycle. The webisodes are instantly engaging and do what great branding does: marry the product with a higher emotional state. In Harley’s case, it’s freedom and confidence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e041FY7XtG8

Most health systems cater their brands to women. (She’s the healthcare decision-maker in the house, after all.)

So what can we learn from Harley?

1. Be real. The 2012 Trendwatching study talks about “Maturialism.” Consumers have zero tolerance for brands that handle them with kid gloves. They want frank, honest conversations. The “My Time to Ride” campaign does this brilliantly.

2. Use multiple platforms. Harley connects with women in traditional ad campaigns, on-line via webisodes, and social media. Harley also offers directories for women to find mentors and group riding events. As you plan your next campaign, challenge yourself to go beyond print, radio and TV. How many different ways can you connect with your audience? (Often, these secondary level tactics produce surprising buzz.)

3. Engage your audience. Inspiring campaigns are one thing. But nothing can replace the sound and feel of a real Harley-Davidson®. So Harely hosts Garage Parties, opportunities for women to join other non-riders to learn the basics of motorcycling. (Men are off-limits at these events, by the way.) Health fairs, screening events and symposiums, once passé, now have new opportunities for healthcare marketers, and social media helps keep the conversation going. Give your audience an opportunity to connect with your physicians and healthcare providers.

Do you ride a Harley? What do you think of this new campaign? 

Have a surprising brand that can inspire the healthcare marketing conversation? We’d love to hear from you.

VW’s Big Game commercial from last year had everyone I know laughing and talking about the spot for weeks and months afterwards.

The brand is following up with a new Star Wars-themed spot for the Big Game – the teaser already has millions of views.

It’s easy in healthcare advertising and branding to go back to the same well of storytelling, especially with the pressure from people in white coats who want to show the technology,  blood and guts, or demand we promote quality scores.

What VW and its agency did so brilliantly was understand a VW owner’s life in relationship to their vehicles.

The kind of advertising that people ignore (and the advertising healthcare marketers are often forced to create) is the kind that makes the product the STAR. The advertising practically screams, PAY ATTENTION! LOOK AT ME!

This is advertising that navel gazes, advertising that is self-absorbed, boorish, tone-deaf.

What the pint-sized Vader spot did spot-on was to create a commercial around its audience and what they cared about, and inserted VW into the conversation.

As a former owner of several VWs, I can tell you I don’t know how to change the car’s oil, and still have trouble figuring out when to rotate the tires. I am sure some VW executives were appalled when they first read the TV script and realized the only feature highlighted in the entire spot was the car’s remote starting feature — a device that has been in commercial use for years by many car brands. For a prospective VW owner, though, it was just enough for the hook, to take a second look, to begin the process of saying, Maybe I should look at VW for my next car. 

The fun appeal of the TV spot gave the brand the viral edge it needed. (An aside: never try to make a “viral video.” Videos go viral when people decide the content is worth sharing. That’s the story building aspect of branding.)

Here are a few pointers for helping your next healthcare advertising campaign be a success like VW’s Vader:

1. It’s all about the audience. Create ads that appeal to your prospective patients, not physicians or the C-suite. Unless it’s OB, prospective patients don’t like thinking about healthcare. (Admit it, heart surgery is a scary topic if you don’t do it every day.) Profile your audience – going beyond age, gender and income. What do they care about? What’s their day like? What are their hopes and fears? What makes them laugh? Create from that place.

2. Keep it simple. Resist the temptation to add just one more copy point in the ad. What’s the one thing you want people to remember about your healthcare brand? Develop your ad around that one thing.

3. Stay out the of hospital (if you can). The VW commercial showed the Passat only at the very end, and we never saw the interior of the car, or looked under the hood. Look for advertising solutions that avoid the standard white lab coat/spotlight on technology/nurses rushing down a crowded hall montage of healthcare advertising that’s been done a million times before. (We’ve certainly done that spot before, and it can work. But still.) Use the Force. Try a new way of connecting with your audience.

Do you have a favorite commercial that inspires you? A tale of woe from a pushy physician who knew better than you what his patients needed to know? We’d love to hear from you.

Many community hospitals are challenged with the perception that they are good for the common illnesses and broken bones, but can’t handle the major stuff.

Satilla Regional faced a similar quandary when they asked for our help in marketing their cardiac services program. Despite outperforming 75% of all hospitals nationwide in the emergency treatment of heart attacks, many locals believed they needed to go out of town for heart needs.

Using research on how and why consumers choose and evaluate healthcare providers, we developed a solution that spoke openly and honestly to Satilla’s audience. When it comes to your heart, use your head, became the campaign theme.

We featured one of Satilla’s cardiologists as a spokesperson for the campaign. Based on research we’ve conducted in markets all over the country, we knew physicians can be excellent spokespeople for hospitals, creating a halo effect for providers. Consumers feel that physicians can choose to practice medicine at many hospitals, so if they are choosing this particular hospital to practice, it must be of high quality.

We also featured testimonials of former cardiac patients and the life-saving care they received at Satilla. Television and web videos wove the softer, more emotional factors that lead to trusting Satilla for cardiac services.

We’re still tracking results for the campaign, but early numbers suggest the campaign is reaching our audiences’ hearts and minds.

What’s your take on using physicians as spokespeople? Curious about our clients’ take on STARK laws? Drop us a line — we’d love to hear from you.

Your smartphone can become  a head-to-toe health care tool. From monitoring your ears with CellScope, your sleep habits with Zeo Sleep Manger or Sleep Cycle, your eating habits with My Fitness Pal or The Eatery or your fertility with DuoFertility Monitor, the mHealth (the use of mobile technology in healthcare) is growing.

According Fast Co., mobile health technology is currently a $2 billion of the $273 billion medical-device industry. And that number is skyrocketing. Experts believe the number will continue to grow as smart phones get smarter and patients take their health into their own hands.

Up next? The FDA plans to release a rigorous set of guidelines for mobile health applications later this year. A more formalized process will make entering the market easier and energize the mHealth market.

What does this mean for your healthcare organization? It’s time to pay attention to mHealth.

• Keep an eye out for great new apps and products that may help cut costs–a new app and accessory for eye exams is literally .3% the cost of its predecessor.
• Think ahead – mobile health portals may soon allow patients who track their health via apps to plug into your EMR. Imagine that data shared seamlessly with your medical staff.
• Try them out yourself. After all, you deserve to be happy and healthy, too. Check out our favorite apps for staying fit and healthy.
• Get your own app–from ER wait times to tips and calendars for pregnant moms. The possibilities are endless.
• If it isn’t already, make your site mobile friendly. While this isn’t an app, it is mHealth. If your website isn’t compatible with prevalent mobile technology, you are missing a golden opportunity. 1 in 7 searches are now mobile and that number is even higher for local searches.

Have more ideas for mHealth? Know an mHealth guru? Need more inspiration? We love sharing our thoughts and  talking with other experts in health and wellness. Give us a shout. 

Your client is a talcum powder guaranteed to stop itching.

There’s a lot of itchy people. You want to reach as many them as possible.

The solution is simple. So simple, in fact, you have to extend your normal 3-martini lunch to 4 martinis just to make it look like you did something. 

The approach? Advertise on “I Love Lucy.” At the height of its popularity, advertising on the home of Lucy, Ricky and the Club Babaloo reached 75% of all TV viewers.

That’s a lot of eyeballs who could use your client’s itching powder.

Fast forward to now.

You’re  a big shot healthcare marketing exec.

Your brand is a nationally-ranked health system and you want everyone to know it.

But there’s no big screen for your brand, no Lucy-sized ratings vehicle to reach everybody and their brother all at once.

In its heyday, the American Idol finale reached 18% of all TV viewers.

75% of all viewers to 18%. That’s a big spread.

Broadcast TV viewership is down 10% across the board.

Tonight, 70% of people watching TV will also be doing something else. (Half of those people, by the way, will be on-line.)

We can’t count on one big screen to build our brands anymore. Our new model of media must live across multiple platforms, connecting with our audience in their busy days and lives.

Our phones are to blame (or thank) for the change from one big screen to many little screens.

Mobile usage is expected to double in 5 years as mobile overtakes the PC as the most popular way to get on the web.

Americans spend on average 2.7 hours per day “socializing” on a mobile device.

What does that mean for your branding?

1. Be a farmer, not a hunter. Marketers can’t expect to reach and persuade their audiences any more with two or three off the shelf tactics. Because of the media fragmentation, marketers can’t expect immediate brand engagement. Adopt a farmer’s patience, scattering brand seeds to discover which tools will become the strongest in time for message engagement.

2. Embrace digital. In the old days, people talked over fences about brands. Now, they IM and Facebook. Even if FourSquare isn’t the right social platform for your health system brand, every brand has an opportunity for online engagement. You just have to find the tools that work for you, whether its Twitter, a Tumblr blog, or search marketing.

3. Audit your workhorses. Resist the temptation to revert to the “tried and true” tactics for every campaign. Challenge yourself to think outside the quarter page ad box and find new ways to bring your brand to life across many little screens. (FYI: This is a great team-building exercise for your in-house staff.)

Exit question: Are you still paying the same rates for media placement that has fewer subscribers, viewers and listeners? Challenge your media reps or buying service to bring new ideas to your existing media channels. The media wants to retain you as a customer and the threat of lost revenue often inspires creative opportunities for your brand.