Junto ("june-toe") is sponsored by Franklin Street, a branding and full service advertising agency specializing in health and wellness. We call the blog Junto in homage to Benjamin Franklin, who created the first "Junto" brainstorming group, which established the first American public hospital.
Chipotle, the Starbucks of burritos, proves once again small things make a huge impact on a brand.
The other day at lunch, I noticed one of the soft drink dispensers was out-of-order.
Instead of Sharpie scribbled scrap of paper taped to the dispenser, Chipotle used the opportunity to reinforce its irreverent brand.
Tricia, our spring digital intern from VCU, calls it service recovery – the opportunity to make a customer even happier during a service lapse.
In hospitals, things don’t always go according to plan. And for patients and families, sometimes what they face is much bigger than the prospect of a meal without an ice-cold Dr. Pepper.
Customer service programs like Disney, Ritz-Carlton or Studer Group focus on the small things that add up. Marketing communications has its role in these programs, and the net effect is the shape of a hospital’s brand. But tackling any of those programs is no small charge.
So this is my call-to-action for hospital marketing and communications professionals: how can your organization create a better patient and family experience by paying attention to the small things, like Chipotle does?
How can you make an Emergency Services waiting room more enjoyable for families?
What are the small touches to the lobby that give patients and visitors an amazing first impression? To borrow a phrase from 2005, what can you do to provide a “Wow experience?”
Look to Chipotle for inspiration. If a burrito bar can be nimble and showcase a personality, just imagine what we can do in our hospitals.
Even without a down economy, fundraising can be a challenge. Memorial Health Care in Chattanooga, TN is embarking on an ambitious fundraising campaign to allow the brand to continue its strategic goal of being a regional destination for world-class services and to fulfill its faith-based mission of service. To support the hospital’s fundraising efforts, Franklin Street developed the strategic healthcare marketing and fundraising materials. The campaign theme, “Inspired Heroes,” comes from Memorial’s core brand of “Inspired Medicine,” acknowledging its deep faith-based roots coupled with Memorial’s innovation in healthcare.
The campaign seeks to raise community financial support for five key initiatives: a new heart center, infusion center, lung center, expanded surgical services, and a new chapel. The campaign elements include television commercials, print advertisements, and a landing page on Memorial’s website where interested donors can learn more and even donate online.
Franklin Street has had the privilege of helping its non-profit clients raise over half a billion dollars in our 25-year history through fundraising and service line marketing. There are many best practices in developing fundraising materials, but here are three lessons in success:
1. Make the campaign an opportunity for donors to give from their hearts, not just their wallets: people should feel an emotional connection to the cause and that they are part of something bigger than themselves.
2. Make the campaign welcome to everyone, regardless of the size of donation: fundraising campaigns are inclusionary efforts; everyone can make a difference.
3. Make the campaign title an anthem: in the case of Memorial, we chose “Inspired Heroes” because it harkens back to the hospital’s core brand, was simple and memorable, and elicits an emotional impact.
To view all of the commercials in the campaign, visit our YouTube Channel. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.memorial.org/hero. To see more of Franklin Street’s campaigns for Memorial, visit our website.
You’re a savvy marketer—savvy enough that you probably turn off your brain whenever you hear the word “engagement.” After all, what is engagement other than another painful buzzword?
But here’s where things get tricky—“engagement” isn’t necessarily meaningless, but it also isn’t a cure-all panacea for your marketing woes. It does not have intrinsic value. It is not a metric, nor is it an easy way to build loyalty. It is not an end in and of itself, but it IS a valuable means to an end—and it is especially valuable if your end-goal is to raise awareness for very specific healthcare services. Because while your consumer might not need your brand-spanking new IMRT technology today, they might need it a few months or even years from now—and you definitely want to be top-of-mind when that need arises.
An engaged audience is a profitable audience.
Think about needs that are large investments, like automobiles. While you might not need a car in the near future, automotive brands are constantly fighting to make sure that you think of their respective companies when you do need a vehicle. In particular, they want to keep you in the family; if you drive a Ford now, they want to make sure you continue to drive a Ford in the future. They go to vast lengths in this struggle for mindshare, encouraging the consumer to participate with their brand as much and as often as possible. Healthcare marketing is no different.
In healthcare, having a relevant brand means engaging consumers today for solutions they may need tomorrow.
Keeping your audience interested is one of the bigger challenges in healthcare marketing, because no one wants to really talk about the subject. Who actually likes to think about possibly catastrophic events like heart attacks, strokes and cancer? On the other hand, some of the most successful websites cater to our inner-hypochondriacs; for example, Web MD has built a mini-empire around allowing users to at least feel as if they are taking an active role in their own health diagnosis and care. This is key.
Let’s think about one of the bigger health systems, like Mayo. Part of their success stems from their constant efforts to engage, educate and empower the audience. From various live events to their immensely informative website, they’ve gone out of their way to ensure that their brand pops to mind for the most intractable medical conditions. It is no small coincidence that the Mayo site ranks among the top Google search listings when potential users search for specific conditions, like “skin cancer.”
To ensure the long-term success of your service lines, you have to take the lead and actively promote them now through audience engagement. Keep your brand relevant in the minds of your consumers for their future healthcare needs. While some amount of effort is required, and the results are not immediate, the returns can be long lasting and immensely rewarding. By simply using calls-to-action whenever possible in your campaigns and websites, you can help keep various service lines on top.
Here is a list—by no means comprehensive—of calls-to-action that work when marketing healthcare:
Downloadable questions to ask your physician about a specific condition
Microsites for more in-depth interaction among consumers and your services
Email campaign with links to wellness information, classes and events
Ask the Expert monthly web chat led by physicians
Interactive kiosks in hospital lobbies and common waiting areas
Men’s health promotional events at local hardware stores
“Afternoon Tea” women’s events
Heart healthy shopping menus at local grocery stores and restaurants
Sign ups for Facebook “fan” exclusive promotions
Twitter/tweet announcements from live events
Sign ups to hospital Twitter accounts get entry into raffles
New resident gifts for completing surveys or calling to get a new physician
Find a new physician promotions with a call center or website payoff
Use Flickr and other photo sharing sites for cutest baby contests
Baby fairs and other community events
Meet the physicians night at housing community clubhouses
Clinics for sports medicine promotions (proper stretching, nutrition and rest)
Engagement is not a solution, but it is a very useful tool. Make sure you use it properly.
What calls-to-action do you use for your healthcare brand? Which has been most impactful? We’d love to hear from you.
We’re not talking gift shops or Starbucks. Lake Health‘s West Medical Center in Ohio recently became the first in the country to feature an entire wellness-focused retail store inside the hospital.
We spoke with Gary Robinson, Vice President for Government and Community Affairs, on the venture that could influence how organizations nationwide work to keep patients healthy and out of the hospital.
But healthcare reform didn’t drive the idea.
Necessity was the mother of invention. Actually, a mother’s necessity.
Gary explains:
Our CEO, Cynthia Moore-Hardy, was frustrated looking for items her sick mother needed. She stumbled across a store in Cleveland called Max-Wellness. She found everything she needed for her mom – plus a few things she hadn’t thought about. She asked an associate if she could talk to the store’s CEO, who responded within hours.
It was Michael Feuer, the founder of office supply superstore OfficeMax. The store was one of four new prototypes focused on the wellness industry. Wide, bright aisles held more than 7,000 health and wellness products including vitamins, blood pressure monitors, skin care products, sleep aids, orthopedic braces, exercise devices and mobility equipment.
The two met and brainstormed about Lake Health and a flagship “mini” store concept that’s designed to be within hospitals and rehabilitation centers.
Ideally, patients and their families can purchase whatever they need before they go home, so everyone’s full attention can be on furthering recovery after discharge.
The hospital consulted with physicians, nurses, employees and patients to help Max-Wellness teams tailor inventory at West Medical Center. The store debuted last July.
We hoped it would increase patient satisfaction, but we didn’t anticipate the other benefits. Employees and physicians love it, too – so much that they’ve been driving sales the first six months. They’re always emailing ideas for more wellness products and healthy snacks to carry. We expect caregivers will transition this year to the bulk of sales. It’s been really well received.
So far, Lake Health has only marketed its Max-Wellness through public relations and internal communications.
Our staff continues to work with patients pre-discharge to discuss what they will need and help them get it.
We’re still in the development phase, so Max-Wellness teams continue to listen and meet with our departments to adjust the product mix for our patients’ recovery needs and general wellness. We looking to add new mom products soon.
Another unique aspect: Lake Health is a minority owner in their pilot store.
We don’t see it as a money-maker. It’s part of our mission to care for patients and their families. Everyone involved in the project knew it was right for us and our community.
Based on the store’s success at Lake Health, Max-Wellness could expand to other hospitals throughout the country.
Other hospital administrators have requested tours of the pilot mini-store to see if it is a good fit for their facilities.
Lake Health also may test other Max-Wellness concepts like health product vending machines at urgent care or physical therapy locations. The system includes a second acute care hospital and 13 other health sites in Lake County.
How would a retail partnership work in your community? How do you engage patients in their recovery and promote overall health? Do you think Lake Health’s store is a game-changer for health reform?
Huntington Hospital, established in 1916, is a well-respected 408-bed nonprofit community Hospital located in Huntington on Long Island. Huntington Hospital has been a member of the North Shore – Long Island Jewish Health System (NS-LIJ) since 1994. NS-LIJ is one of the nations integrated healthcare networks, and the largest in New York state.
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.
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 exactlythesame, 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 totopCoca-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.
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 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.
Here’s a smattering of commercials from the Super Bowl XLVI that our team thought hit the mark.
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.
When you think of Harley-Davidson®, do you think of a premium woman’s brand?
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.
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.
A pint-sized Darth Vader can teach us about better healthcare marketing.
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.
