To reveres low awareness of its advanced and complex healthcare services, a two-hospital system in Pennsylvania retooled its marketing campaign tagline.
The desire to scrap the old and start fresh with the new is a facet of human nature. It's tempting to scrap an old thing no longer works and replace it with a shiny new one.
But sometimes a little sanding and a fresh coat of paint can make the old sparkle like new. (Trust me, I have a Pinterest board full of refurbished furniture to prove it. A little imagination and elbow grease can truly give new life to just about anything. It's true of antique vanities and hospital marketing campaigns alike.
Abington Health, a two-hospital system based in Abington, PA, has done just that with its "Power" campaign, which is an extension of its longtime tagline "the power to heal." The health system decided to retool the tagline after it discovered low awareness among both consumers and employees of the advanced and complex services available at Abington.
"We had been using the tagline 'The power to heal' for several years and were looking to transition the word 'power' to help us explain our breadth and depth in the market," says Beth Ann Neill, director of public relations and marketing for the system. "Too often, campaigns are abandoned too early. Instead of abandoning the tagline entirely, we transitioned 'power' to be the emphasis of the campaign.
The campaign, which launched in September 2013, focused on neurosciences, oncology, cardiology, orthopedics, bariatrics, and maternity service lines, all of which are organization-wide priorities and provide an opportunity to differentiate Abington from competitors, Neill says.
"Whether it was our volume in the anterior hip replacements, an advanced approach to joint surgery or highly advanced stroke treatment, all were focused on key market differentiators," she says.
Working with Wilmington, DE, marketing agency ab+c, Abington selected campaign target audiences for each highlighted service line. The breakdown is as follows:
- Bariatrics: men and women 25+
- Oncology: men and women 40+ and caretakers of anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer
- Cardiology: men and women 40+ and caretakers of anyone with a heart condition
- Maternity: women 25-45
- Neurosciences: men and women 40+
- Orthopedics: men and women 50+
The creative team wanted the campaign to have a "very human element," so they chose to use gray-scale photography with a touch of color for emphasis, Stacy Speicher, account supervisor for ab+c says.
"Ad placement was tailored to the target audience, but overall, we've had success with traditional mediums like print and radio in the past and decided to stick go this route with service lines that were appropriate."
"We also wanted to reach consumers in mediums that couldn't be avoided, like platform signage at the train station, large banners in malls, audio advertising on Pandora and elevator wraps throughout the hospital campuses," she said.
Marketers also wanted to ensure that consumers could find information when they searched for specific services, so SEM was an important component of the campaign.
According to the latest results, the "Power" campaign's retooled tagline and targeted tactics have been a success. Since launching in September 2013, the campaign generated more than 1,700 calls top-of-mind awareness increased by 1.75 points for 18–34 year olds, 4.25 points for 45–64 year olds and 1.5 points for those 65+, according to National Research Corporation data.
"Anecdotally, the billboards, radio, and the mall application prompted the greatest verbal feedback as the campaign translated well in the out-of -home environment," Speicher says.
Looking forward, Abington is hoping to build on the campaign's success as a new branding initiative, scheduled to launch this fall, is developed.
"Although the approval process is not yet complete, there will be graphic elements of the 'Power' campaign that will extend the branding initiative," Neill says.
Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.