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.
Gabrielle DeTora is a healthcare marketing strategist and founder of Gabrielle DeTora, LLC, a private healthcare strategic planning and marketing consulting company based in Philadelphia. In preparation for a presentation Stephen Moegling made at SHSMD this year on how hospitals find and evaluate ad agency partners, Gabrielle shared her thoughts with Stephen, which we present here as a Q & A.
How do you define a great client and ad agency relationship?
Ideally, the agency relationship will be longstanding. The agency will be investing in the hospital with time, energy, and talent and will fully understand the hospital’s culture, services, competitors, and market. This will lead to more strategic deliverables by the agency in an expedited turnaround time.
I have worked for two healthcare systems as the head of marketing and many more advertising agencies as the lead healthcare strategist. From my perspective of sitting on both sides of the fence, a great client and ad agency relationship is based on clear communication and respect. Understanding the roles and responsibilities of both the hospital marketing and the agency teams is vital. Is the agency’s role strategic in nature, or is it tactical execution? When is the agency team brought into the process? How much agency staff time is required for various types of projects, and why? Most hospital/agency relationships derail when the teams are not aligned in understanding their roles, responsibilities, and the timing of the development process.
What is the role of the agency search consultant, and what types of clients benefit from having this consultant role?
Many healthcare-system marketers have asked me to conduct their agency RFP processes. The role of the search consultant is to carry out a non-biased process, conduct initial agency screenings, write the RFP request, manage all correspondence, and advise the client throughout the process. Finalists are reviewed directly by the hospital leadership team. My clients have benefitted from my understanding of their hospital’s needs and the agency needs, as well as my experience with, and knowledge of, best practices in the RFP process. They also appreciate my undertaking the bulk of the time-consuming research and development, as well as my providing a buffer between the hospital and the agencies.
If clients were to cast a net for new agencies, what tools would you recommend they use for finding prospective agency partners?
It depends entirely on the hospital requirements for an agency and the identified criteria on which to judge the agency’s capabilities. The places where I would look to identify RFP candidates for strategic branding, creative tactical execution, websites, social media, or public relations are all different.
How do you feel about asking agencies for spec creative as part of a pitch process?
I would never recommend asking agencies for spec creative as part of an RFP process. In most cases, spec creative is not necessary to judge the evaluation criteria. An agency’s past work will usually speak for its talents. If the hospital leadership team requires spec creative, all agencies participating in the RFP should be given the exact same creative brief, allotted an appropriate time for creative development, and compensated for their work.
What topics should go into a client’s checklist when evaluating ad agencies?
Using a systematic, objective approach to identify, prioritize, and evaluate decision criteria is very important. Start by outlining the short- and long-term client requirements for an agency. Using Six-Sigma tools, such as a KJ Analysis and affinity diagrams, can ensure that the agency evaluation criteria match the requirements outlined by the hospital, that they are rated by level of importance, and that hospital leadership buy-in is achieved before agency evaluations begin.
What are a few common mistakes both clients and agencies make in the early stages of the relationship?
Most agencies prefer to build a relationship with a potential client early on. A good chemistry between the agency and hospital teams is very important, but hospitals tend to engage in relationship-building too early in the process, at the urging of the agencies. This may cloud the hospital team’s judgment and create a biased process. The hospital team may then choose an agency based on good chemistry and develop unfounded assumptions about the agency’s competency. If such assumptions prove to be incorrect, the relationship will fail in the long term.
Rightly so, my clients have requested that the first time an agency has personal interactions with the client should be during finalist in-person presentations. By that point, all agency finalists will have been screened for core competencies, experience, and client ROI, benchmarked against the allotted evaluation criteria. At the presentation phase, it should be very much about the relationship potential.
These are the key steps that should comprise your agency search process:
1. Hospital Needs Assessment
2. Agency Evaluation Criteria
3. Request for Proposal (RFP) Development
4. Agency Candidate Research/Preliminary Screening
5. RFP Invitations
6. Q & A with Agencies
7. Finalist Selection
8. Agency Presentations and Evaluations
9. Agency Decision
10. Awarding the Contract
Check out Gabrielle’s company website, http://www.GabrielleDeTora.com or e-mail her at Gabrielle at GabrielleDeTora dot com for more information.
Candace Quinn is CEO and Senior Strategy Consultant of Brand=Experience, a healthcare marketing consulting firm based in Northern Virginia. Candace has over 25 years experience in the senior and chief marketing role for health systems and hospitals around the country. In preparation for a presentation Stephen Moegling made at SHSMD this year on how hospitals find and evaluate ad agency partners, Candace shared her thoughts with Stephen, which we present here as a Q & A.
How do you define a great client and ad agency relationship?
Over the thirty years that I’ve been either CMO or consultant, a great client/agency relationship is one of integrity, respect and inclusion. I’ve always valued research and strategy as the foundation for any creative. The agencies that I’ve worked with most successfully over these many years share this focus!
What is the role of the agency search consultant and what types of clients benefit from having this consultant role?
Having served as a search consultant, most often the client wants an objective look at the agencies who most closely meet their criteria. For some, they want a lot of healthcare experience. For others, they want a mix of healthcare with non-healthcare. As a search consultant, it is my job to really get to the core of what a client is looking for in an agency, and then articulate that clearly for the agencies who are willing to respond to the RFP process. Similarly, from the agency perspective, they know that I value the time and effort that go into an RFP response, and I grant them access to me to answer questions, and provide access to the client to clarify RFP items.
If clients were to cast a net for new agencies, what tools would you recommend they use for finding prospective agency partners?
I try to always include those agencies who have advertised with SHSMD, or who have been involved over the years with SHSMD. They seem to be more in tune with our challenges, and day to day issues. I also recommend that they take the time to clearly articulate their expectations for an agency relationship. Not all clients are created equal. Some clients need the agency for strategy as well as execution while others have the strategy set, and simply need agency for creative and execution. I recommend that they be upfront about their roles and expectations for the agency.
How do you feel about asking agencies for spec creative as part of a pitch process?
I think that subjecting the decision making team to creative spec as a part of the pitch process sets both the agency and the client up for trouble. Most organizations use a “committee” of some sort in the selection process. The danger for the client is that the committee gets excited about a creative execution that is off the mark strategically. For the agency, to expect them to give you their best when they have only superficial information to work from is setting them up for failure as well. I would much rather have the agency spell out for me a case study where their past creative has addressed a specific strategic situation and they answer for me how they approached the challenge and how this particular creative performed. I can then judge if their thought process is similar to what I expect, and anticipate how they will do with me.
What topics should go into a client’s checklist when evaluating ad agencies?
My clients have used criteria that includes the following: How well did they follow the RFP and include exactly what we were looking for? How well written was the RFP? This is the agency’s only way to show us their Quality control. Was the response error free? Did the agency show us some creative that is uniquely theirs or did they keep it simple…while I encourage my clients NOT to seek spec creative, that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to see how interesting the agency can make a simple response. Finally, did the agency get their “personality” across. In the end, when presentations are in order, it typically boils down to chemistry…that relationship starts with the first email back to me and continues with the phone call to answer questions through the myriad of email exchanges that take place, to the shipping of the materials and response. For me, most agencies like to burn the midnight oil, getting in just under the wire…I always give extra credit to the agency that can show me how important I am by getting their response in early…it says, you won’t be waiting on me, ever.
What are a few common mistakes both clients and agencies make in the early stages of the relationship?
They forget about the respect piece. Time is all we have as a very limited commodity. If we are waiting for something from each other, honor the time elements. Move things on the client end so that the agency isn’t the one under the gun to hit hard deadlines…agencies need to keep work moving and not wait until its the midnight hour when close review and a complex client approval process will now make deadlines impossible.
We don’t share enough information with each other early enough to get on the same page, and we find ourselves irritating each other. From the very beginning…practice unbelievable communication. Share what it will take to make the other successful. Clients need to be upfront about budgets, limitations, and expectations around existing relationships with web developers, media buyers, PR firms, etc. Agencies need to be up front about billing practices, account management, and creative approaches.
Each agency is different, and each client is unique. No two hospitals are just alike, and no two agencies are alike.
Be sure to follow Candace on Twitter and check out her own blog on healthcare marketing.
I will be presenting with our friend and client, Rick Prudhomme, from Pardee Hospital at SHSMD in September on “Built to Last Client/Agency Partnerships.” To learn more, visit SHSMD’s website. Not attending? Drop me a line at smoegling at franklinstreet dot com and I will send you the handout deck.
Hiring a marketing agency-of-record can be a lengthy, time-intensive process. Healthcare systems are notoriously consensus-driven, which often translates into a lot of planning, meetings and committee voting, especially when the decision is to hire an agency-of-record.
Some health systems who seek an agency of record need to conduct a formal RFP for political or consensus-building reasons. But conducting an RFP doesn’t need to be an arduous, time-consuming process. The starting point is a needs assessment. Determine what you need in an outside partner. Is it new ways of attracting patients or building relationships with referring physicians? Special insights on digital and social media? A well thought out needs assessment makes short work of finding the right partner.
The second step is finding agencies to invite to the RFP. The number one way to find agencies is through asking peers, such as professional organizations you might be involved in, such as state chapters of healthcare marketing and PR associations, or The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD).
The second step is drafting the RFP. Having gone through hundreds of RFPs and having asked professional agency search consultants their recommendations, here’s a streamlined RFP outline:
1. Organization background
2. Reason for hiring agency
3. Services requested
4. Organizational chart
5. Capabilities request
- healthcare
- similar hospitals
- service lines/issues
- agency biographies
- proximity
- campaign samples
- depth of services
- measurable results
- rate cards and fee schedules
- references
6. Process
- RFP submission terms
- availability for questions
- narrowing of candidates
- onsite presentations/assignments
When President Obama was first elected, I was invited by the transition team to attend a roundtable discussion on the problems and opportunities facing healthcare in America. Over the past year, I’ve studied the healthcare reform debate. It’s not a glamorous topic, but it is a critical one – not just for our profession, but for our country. I don’t believe that most members of Congress truly know what’s in the final bill and what consequences – intended or unintended – await Americans as a result of the legislation. (In fact, Congress had to amend the law after it was passed when someone realized that they had written themselves out from ever receiving health insurance again once the law went into effect.)
There are many things about the law that I don’t think are good policy. While I like the idea of all citizens having access to affordable healthcare, forcing insurance companies to accept all patients will only result in higher premiums for everyone. I also don’t like the idea of being forced to purchase health insurance. Yes, the uninsured cost all of us money. But, requiring citizens to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional. Finally, the legislation costs too much. (The Congressional Budget Office now estimates the final cost to be over the one trillion dollar mark.)
Despite the cons in the legislation facing patients, payors and providers, there are many positives for health systems. And, while most of the legislation will take effect within several years, there are at least three great opportunities for health systems and their marketing departments to take advantage of now.
1. Hospitals will begin emphasizing keeping patients well. New reimbursement incentives will translate into wellness models for healthcare delivery. Marketers will be tasked with pro-actively educating their communities on nutrition, fitness, and preventative check-ups. We’re already seeing this with many academics and systems located in inner cities. There’s plenty of information out there, but few trusted sources. From a competitive opportunity, hospitals can “own” the recognition as the destination for health and wellness, period. (Not just cardiac or cancer care anymore.)
2. Traditional PSA/SSA markets will dissolve into larger regional and national territories. Lowe’s signed a contract with the Cleveland Clinic to allow their employees across the country to get heart care in Cleveland. Lowe’s wins because of competitive payment schedules and high quality care available to their employees. The Cleveland Clinic now has the potential to treat hundreds of thousands of new patients. Companies are bargaining directly with providers to care for their employees by offering high quality, lower cost care in exchange for guaranteed revenue. One of our clients in Florida is now attracting patients across the country with this new kind of relationship. As competition heats up, hospitals will think outside the traditional PSA/SSA. Competition = a win-win for everyone.
3. More and more physicians will choose employed status at health systems. With the new payment plans and government paperwork, physicians are surrendering their stand-alone practices and seeking employed models. This is good news to marketers, because it allows for (at times!) easier marketing opportunities when physicians are on the same payroll. But, it does give marketers a new skill set to master — helping physicians to attract new patients while maneuvering STARK and political challenges.
I’ve said before that as marketers, we’re in the Golden Age of healthcare. Never before has our product been as coveted and passionately discussed before by our audiences. We used to fight for attention. Now we have as much spotlight on our services as we could ever hope. The question now is whether or not we’ll take advantage of it.
Here at Franklin Street, we take pride in the fact that our work helps make a difference in the lives of thousands of people every day. In the spirit of making a difference through medicine, I would like to share this story about one extraordinary doctor’s efforts to promote peace and avoid nuclear war:
In the history of medicine, Bernard Lown, MD, is best known as the inventor of the heart defibrillator. Yet his contributions to global politics may have saved more lives in the 50 years since his invention than even his heart defibrillator has.
Early in his career, Dr. Lown became an activist to abolish nuclear weapons and promote world peace, founding Physicians for Social Responsibility in 1962. In 1980, he partnered with Dr. Evgeni Charzov, a Russian physician, and 150,000 other physicians world-wide, to form International Physicians for the Prevention of War, an organization that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. The medical evidence Dr. Lown and his colleagues had collected eventually convinced the world that humanity would not survive a nuclear war—a monumental feat of science, politics and communication.
Today, our fear of nuclear war and the relative peace we enjoy are their legacy.
Who loves spending time in hospitals? Or being a patient? Unless you’re going to deliver a baby or visit one, most people are scared to death of hospitals. That’s where sick people live, after all. The nurses, doctors and staff in this video for Jefferson Hospital’s Magnet Status showcase the other side of the coin–hospitals as a place where caring, dedicated, PASSIONATE people work and help us get better; or at the very least, feel better.
Hospitals focusing on traditional PSA and SSA markets are chasing a shrinking pool of patients. Out-of-state employers and individuals are looking to get the best value for their healthcare dollars…88% of patients are willing to leave their hometown for better quality of healthcare.
Rule: Create ways to attract out-of-market patients.
Consider the benefits:
Access to incremental volume of commercial patients
Get pre-payment on all procedures
Fill available OR capacity
Manage timing of patient in-flow
Hospitals that are outcomes-focused and want to secure incremental volume to increase their overall profitability are forging partnerships with organizations that can attract and funnel more patients into their health systems.
Hospital marketing departments that focus on growing awareness or moving the needle on preference scores are missing out on the top three things that CEOs expect from their marketing communications department.
Rule: Focus on activities that impact market share, utilization volume and patient satisfaction.
77% cited market share as the number one priority for their marketing staff
66% cited changes in utilization volume as the second highest priority
62% of CEOs said that patient satisfaction was number three in priority
Growing awareness and perception among consumers ranked 4th and 5th respectively.
More than half of hospital CEOs are only somewhat satisfied or have no opinion of their marketing department’s performance. It’s clear that healthcare marketing professionals are still in “performance review” mode with CEOs. As the market continues to tighten, marketing professionals need to find solutions to impact the bottom line and stake their claim as revenue producers.
