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How do you compete in a crowded market when other hospitals offer unique services, such as spa-like amenities, or have the advantage of strong name recognition? For St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco, the answer was to carve out a niche it could call its own-the 20-somethings known as transitional professionals. A research-based strategy Research performed by St. Mary's agency, Mortar PR in San Francisco, which included informal discussion groups with a variety of age and gender groups, as well as more traditional market research, showed that families were leaving the city and the elderly population was in decline.