The Remedy for Poor Healthcare Advertising? Creativity.

Posted by: Kirsten Taylor // May 2nd, 2012

Hospital marketing can be just as fun an innovative as any other product if you give it the attention it deserves. So how can you make it stand out from the rest in a way that is interesting, unexpected but still professional? According to Taft and Partners, there are a few things you need to remember:

  • Your ads are still ads! They must be attention grabbing and creative
  • They must make you stand apart from your competitors
  • You don’t have to say it all in a single ad
  • It’s a marathon, not a sprint, share your full message over time
  • Place the ads well so they have a good combination of reach and frequency
  • Be integrated and connection so the effect is cumulative
  • Have aligned offline and online strategies

It’s important to remember that you can look outside of the healthcare industry to find examples of how companies are strategically and effectively marketing their brand. Creativity is everywhere!

@KirstenETaylor

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In Healthcare Communication, Wording Can Make All The Difference

Posted by: Matthew Bick // April 2nd, 2012

Imagine you will shortly undergo an elective surgery.  While the decision to have the operation is certainly yours, you’re still naturally nervous.  What’s more, you have a decision to make; where to have your procedure.  You look at hospital websites and ads to learn more about your choices.  You want to find a hospital in which you can feel comfortable and confident in the staff’s abilities.

When one of the primary touch points between hospitals and patients is advertising and other hospital-produced materials, wording and language can make an enormous difference.  Ragan’s Healthcare Communication News’ Lori Bruss recently wrote an article describing some of the more successful word choices for hospital advertisers.  Top words include “treatment,” “communication,” and “compassion.”  Bruss cites a survey as she describes, “each of these three words has an overwhelmingly positive connotation among respondents.”

With so many possible means for hospitals to communicate with potential patients, from direct mail campaigns to website copy, hospitals and the healthcare community in general truly must choose their words wisely.

@MatthewBick

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Marketing your Primary Care Provider: Who are you speaking to?

Posted by: Adrenaline // November 4th, 2011

Think about your primary care provider, now think back and remember how your relationship came to be.  Most likely it was through a referral, online or old-fashioned phone book research.   Whatever it may have been, according to Marketing Communication News, in a world where people change doctors as often as they change their socks, it is important for marketers to know who they are speaking to in order for their patients to build “brand” loyalty to their PCP.

The first step is to consider and understand patients’ wants and needs based on age, gender and life events.  Once each demographic is established, it is then imperative to research how this group of people gathers their information and then go where they are.  Whether you are talking to Millennials or Baby Boomers, you’ll need to figure out the best tactics to promote your PCPs.

@EMortek

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A Different Approach to Hospital Advertising

Posted by: Russell Herder // May 5th, 2009


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This week The New York Times highlighted a new television campaign for Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio that approaches hospital advertising in a different way. The ads feature patients telling their story, completely unscripted. This may sound like your standard “testimonial ad,” however these are current patients, not someone talking to us after their positive outcome. Their future is still unknown, but hopeful. The ads end with a call to action to visit a website set up to share your stories, and the hospital is only mentioned in conversation within the ads – no ending logo on screen or VO. They are definitely a departure from a traditional hospital ad in forgoing the customary focus on doctors, technology and caring atmosphere. Although unexpected in some ways, they are still dealing with the dramatic side of healthcare, this time presented through the patient’s eyes.

In a lot of ways, healthcare advertising has been behind the times in stepping away from the traditional norms. I’m sure all of us could write a hospital ad in our sleep – great docs, caring nurses, latest technology. As an agency we strive to throw out the norms and create campaigns that push these boundaries. Doing so is easier said than done, especially in healthcare, but in my opinion it must be done in order to stand out. A lot of times people forget that your local hospital ad is sandwiched in between national advertisers that have been breaking down these barriers for years. If your spot fails to captivate the audience in some way, you have wasted significant dollars.

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