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This question has been closed, and points have been awarded.
Tagline/slogan For Healthcare Affiliates
Posted By: dsteiner* on 1/16/2007 9:26 AM (CST) 250 Points
I do marketing for a small (142-bed) community hospital in NC. We are experiencing major growth through physician practice acquisitions. We have recently acquired several affiliates and need a new marketing campaign for all of them. We have a marketing dept of two so this is a huge undertaking.

Please suggest tag lines for the following practices/ideas, any suggestions are welcome! :)

-a tag line pretty much saying that we are more than just a hospital or suggesting that people should see what they are missing. (people view us as being a small hospital with no technology, we actually have advanced physicians and high-tech equipment that most hospitals our size do not have)

-a tag line for a OBGYN Practice. This practice has both male and female doctors.

Further information on our community/company. We are a non profit hospital and we own several affiliates (15 - 5 of which we have acquired in a matter of only a few months) including a medical fitness center, cancer center, OBGYN practice, 2 internal medicine practices, 2 orthopedic surgery practices, 1 general surgery practice, medical equipment business, home health services, family care practice, urgent care practice, psychiatric services, etc; we have a larger city nearby and many of our market go there because they feel "bigger is better" We are trying to rebrand our hospital to change perception. We are a waterfront community and our community is mostly an older population consisting of families and retirees. This is a very "old school" traditional market. We also are run by a CEO who is very conservative and expects marketing efforts to be tasteful and also super conservative. Thanks!

Posted by: mzimmer999 Member Response
1/16/2007 9:48 AM (CST)
"A new neighbor, an old friend."

Build the message on the foundation that you are still the trusted community provider that you have always been. But then issue a series of PR vehicles to generate awareness of the state-of-the-art capabilities that most residents may not realize.

For example ...

We have a high-tech medical fitness center and a team of 15 new rehabilitation engineers, so no one will have you back in action faster!

Our state-of-the-art imaging equipment and world-class team of oncologists gives you the edge in beating cancer.

(Etc.)

ABC Hospital - a new neighbor, an old friend.
 
Posted by: BARQ Member Response
1/16/2007 10:16 AM (CST)
We take high-tech care personally

Putting The Care in Health Care

Your Community Health Experts

Taking Care of Our Own


Good Luck, Donetta!

BARQ
SELMARQ Brands' Best Friend
 
Posted by: peanutpeanut Member Response
1/16/2007 11:41 AM (CST)
using technology for better health care

meeting all your health needs
 
Posted by: The Radial Group Member Response
1/16/2007 11:04 PM (CST)
My firm specializes in sales and marketing for health & wellness businesses and organizations.

Here are the first few steps we'd suggest:

1) Identify the goals of your marketing plan and make sure they're tied to the overall business goals/plan for the entire hospital system.

Is the goal simply to raise awareness? Or to attract more docs, or more patients, or something else?

Are there particular services you want to promote, and why?

Estimate the available budget (rough guess is fine).

You said you want a marketing campaign for everything, but it would probably be more effective to set priorities for your campaign over the next couple of years.

2) Once you've done the above, develop the key marketing messages to support those goals. These are the key things that you want to communicate to the hospital's stakeholders. Typical stakeholders are potential (and current) patients/clients and physicians, both those currently affiliated with the hospital and those who may be affiliated in some way in the future. For example, it can also include potential investors if getting financing for future acquisitions is a major thrust.

You've identified several potential messages - state of the art equipment & superb docs, for example. There are probably others that should be considered as well. For example, most consumers also want sincere concern for their wellbeing.

3) Then address the question of whether the current hospital name is appropriate or whether you need a new name (AKA brand).

4) Then address a tagline for the overall hospital system.

5) Only now should you start developing the secondary marketing messages that are tied to specific areas, like ob/gyn or the fitness center. Those messages will need to be consistent with everything else. And of course, you'll need business goals for each area as well because those provide the context for developing the marketing messages, taglines, and other elements of the marketing campaign.

One other thought - this is also a good time to think about the best way to get the word out. Direct mail is the frequent choice, but not necessarily the best. I judged the Health Information Awards in '05 and '06 and saw some very innovative community-oriented hospital system communications that were probably more effective (and frankly, cheaper) than direct mail.

We've found that it's really important to have the "big picture" framework in place before you start working on taglines and the like. Otherwise, what often happens is that you come up with a catchy slogan, but it ends up not "meshing" well with everything else.

Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to brainstorm further. We've got extensive experience in rebranding after mergers and acquisitions and in communicating to customers after an ownership change.

Good luck!

Leslie Nolen
The Radial Group
Business expertise for the wellness industry
 
Posted by: sdsondhi Member Response
1/16/2007 11:23 PM (CST)
I agree with the Radial Group.

Their methodology is very sound.

Conservative or not... what has to be the benchmark is that you are in a market which demands the establishment of reputation.

If you have a local one who has gone through an upgrade then try to bring that out. If it's a demographic expansion then try for something like:
Best health facility in NC now in your neighbourhood.

for your upgrades try an ad where the various new facilities are mentioned like:

CT Scan, MRI, ...and many more...
Do those terms boggle you ?
Do you have to go far for these facilities.
Not any more because we're giving those services in your very own NC...

Also try and propagate the upgrades among the loyal clientèle and have it spread through word of mouth. Nothing better than that. May seem slow but it GENERATES loyalty.
 
Posted by: shghosh Member Response
1/17/2007 1:54 AM (CST)
Seems to me that getting a tagline wd not be a solution to your problem. You need to change perceptions of the community around you as well as build patients for your OBGYN division.
May i suggest that you run various awareness campaigns... like Did you know, Guess Whats New?, 'We do not have piped music at our waiting rooms but our prices will be music to your ears' ( if u wish t position on prices/ deals etc)
For an OBGYN promotion- run pink ribbon campaigns in local shopping malls, discounted checkups during the lean hours, joint promotions with womyns products-credit cards/ loans etc.
Hope this helps.
 
Posted by: dsteiner* Author Response
1/17/2007 6:51 AM (CST)
All of these comments are great, thanks for all of you help :)

Just some more information about the hospital, it is very small and marketing has a very small budget. We are currently trying to educate administration on the importance of marketing so that we will be in a position to do more. It is hard to do anything without support (both financially and emotionally) from management. We are currently utilizing almost all mediums of free-inexpensive marketing. Also, our community is an older community and very southern and they HATE change. However, despite the hate for change, there is still a need. We are still a "county hospital" (though we are not affiliated with the county) and we are about a year and a half away from a name change and large-scale branding campaign. We are actually outsourcing a lot of the work for the campaign to a fabulous marketing firm out of SC (as it would be virtually impossible to do with a marketing/pr team of two).

Would it be better to wait and roll out all the new ideas in conjunction with the new name change or start now. My fear is that by doing agressive marketing now under the current name it will be done in vain because in a year we will be a different hospital. However, we need to increase our numbers now and in order to have positive cash flows for the next year we need to do something right. We do have to select very low budget options for now though.

I agree that the most important priority for us right now is to simply increase awareness, tell our story, and change the perceptions of the locals. We have acquired all of these practices but without changing the perceptions of the community, it will not do any good. Most of them just are not aware of the quality of care they can get here because past marketing efforts were minimal. We have expanded and added a lot of new physicians and services so we need to get the word out. But as far as the job of changing the perception, is it better to wait until the name change or start now?
 
Posted by: Theresa H. Member Response
1/17/2007 2:53 PM (CST)
The process that The Radial Group mapped out is great. If you haven't done it already it will produce information you will refer back to for quite a while. It may also help give you some leverage with your CEO to get more support for your efforts and additional dollars.

I feel that if you wait for the name change your battle will be so big – establish name change, reputation, programs, offerings – that your community will get confused and the hospital will suffer. If you begin talking now about your program, technology, docs, etc. and then introduce the new name you have had time to build some loyalty and a reputation that would sustain a name change.

A name change does not mean a new hospital and the community knows that. Our community hospital - in a similar community as yours (a.k.a older folks) - thought a name change would help them. Five years later, a lot of marketing and new programs still hasn't helped. In fact, people still don't use the new name and the poor reputation has followed as well.

I would suggest that you begin to establish yourselves now with the programs, technologies, practices and care options that you have and have acquired. Promote yourselves with the idea that you are more than they (the community) knew and that there is more to come - building up to the name change - assuming that a new name set in stone to happen.

i.e "______ ______ Hospital. We offer more than you thought.”
“________ _______ Medical Center. We offer more now than ever.”

Or if you want to convey the idea that they don’t have to go to the city to get the care and technology, then try something like:
“Quality Care, Close to Home.”
“Healthcare Technology, Close to Home.”
“The care you deserve, Close to Home.”

Whatever tag you choose now, should be flexible enough to handle the name change to give continuity to your message through the transition.

Hope this helps.
Theresa
 
Posted by: Rick Member Response
1/17/2007 6:25 PM (CST)
As a band aid until your name change try a postcard campaign. One Side showing your updated facilities with the headline " Health Starts At Home". and list of services and benefits that are available right in your hometown.
Rick
 
Posted by: mjburne Member Response
1/17/2007 7:08 PM (CST)
The Carolinas offer some unique opportunities depending on your particular market. Our firm exclusively markets medical practices in the Carolinas.

We've developed several specialty products to assist groups like yours improve brand awareness, referrals, and patient count.

A good strategic plan will provide you a system to tie all of your elements together using unifying graphic and copy elements.

It's also important that you do develop a style sheet to keep your logo usage, colors and design elements consistent in everything that goes out to the public.

As a boutique medical marketing agency in the Carolinas, we would be happy to talk to you.

Warm Regards,
Mike Burney
Doctors Edge Marketing Group, LLC
 
Posted by: The Radial Group Member Response
1/17/2007 11:16 PM (CST)
You said in your follow-up post that "Most of them just are not aware of the quality of care they can get here because past marketing efforts were minimal."

Forgive my bluntness, but virtually everyone in a community comes into contact with the local hospital. If they don't experience it directly, they're only one or two steps removed from it.

If they don't perceive quality of care, that's not a marketing problem. That means that they're hearing bad stories - not positive ones - from their neighbors, coworkers, friends and family members.

It's virtually impossible to market yourself out of a bad perception. Bad perceptions only change if people begin to accumulate pleasantly surprising positive experiences over time.

Leslie Nolen
The Radial Group
Business expertise for the wellness industry
 
Posted by: dsteiner* Author Response
1/18/2007 6:40 AM (CST)
I understand completely what you are saying, you are not being too blunt, just realistic. The community doesn't necessarily have a bad perception of the quality of care we provide, it is simply that they are not aware of our growth. Years back their perception would be right on target, we WERE just a small community hospital with very general services. However, over the last 3-4 years we have recruited more physicians, specialists, and acquired other practices along with increasing our scope of services and technology. The marketing director from years past did nothing to tell our story and increase awareness, therefore the community still views us as just a small community hospital. Many of them thing bigger is better and they go to our neighboring city which has a huge medical center (and it is only 20 minutes away). Once they have been going there, it is hard to get them to come back. But we do have more opportunities of getting them from the start since this is a retirement community. The task at hand now, I believe is to simply tell our story and try to make it be known that we are more than a community hospital now. They can get the same care close to home (with the exception of some services such as cardiology & radiation treatments and a few other services) that they can get in the city.

I think what we need to do is increase awareness focusing on our growth and our line of services and the fact that we are small and offer one-on-one care and a "personal" touch that you cannot get in the city. I just hope the locals don't view the name change as a negative thing.......
 
Posted by: Marketing-Riot Accepted Answer
1/19/2007 8:16 AM (CST)
Begin a campaign "We're Growing to Meet Your Needs", state where you have expanded and begin running campaigns with patient testimonials for each of those areas while you are waiting for your new branding to take place.

Without saying it, you'll be informing the community of the changes you are going through and they won't be blind-sided when you begin operating under your new name. They will see that as a natural progression of the communications you have had with them from now until you change.

Also, offer information on transportation to/from your network whether that be hospital shuttles, that you are on the main bus line, etc. to promote easier access to your facilities.

Running advertising in local community papers with this message will increase awareness. Can you develop outdoor signage about these changes? I know our hospital here was expanding and they developed signage discussing what changes they were making at the time.

I don't know what your public transit system is like where you are located but I know bus panel advertising (back of the bus) is used here quite frequently for public service messages which I think is appropriate for your hospital.

I would show photos of the new doctors and run a series of ad campaigns for each of the new services you are offering. It would take a little coordination on your part to roll it out effectively.

Donna
Marketing Riot
 
Posted by: Marketing-Riot Accepted Answer
1/19/2007 8:22 AM (CST)
Also, have you designed press releases to discuss all these changes as the hospital makes them? You can get local press coverage each and every time you expand. Just create and send a press release.

I would also think your acquisitions and plans for expansion are newsworthy for an article in local newspapers. Do you have a media kit developed that you can send to local publications as well?

Donna
Marketing Riot
 
Posted by: dsteiner* Author Response
1/19/2007 9:32 AM (CST)
we have done multiple news releases, groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings etc; and our local paper and tv station has given us great coverage (its a small town so luckily there isn't many other breaking news stories! :)

Your ideas are very good (Donna) and they seem to be along the lines of what we have done thus far. All of these answers are very helpful. I think we are moving in the right direction, I just wanted to make sure we weren't missing anything major.
 
Posted by: The Radial Group Accepted Answer
1/20/2007 1:24 AM (CST)
One final thought - it sounds like everything you're doing is about YOU (the hospital, that is). Groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings don't usually matter much to anyone except the people who attend or make money off construction :)

We like to see organizations talk about their clients and customers - AKA patients - in their marketing, publicity and public relations, etc.

Have your activities highlighted wonderful patient human interest stories, ideally showcasing the underappreciated aspects of your system? For example, a story about a preemie who made it because of a top-notch neonatal unit or the like?

Same thing goes for the physicians and other healthcare professionals. Look for PR opportunities (local newspaper writeups, "newcomer" features, that kind of thing) that spotlight them as kind, caring, knowledgeable professionals with great small-town values. Mention their hobbies, etc., to give them a "face" in the town.

Good luck!

Leslie Nolen
The Radial Group
Business expertise for the wellness industry
 


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