New York-based Northwell Health's plan to springboard its rebranding efforts via the Super Bowl almost didn't happen. Until fate—and a generous board member—stepped in.
Mountain Dew's creepy puppy-monkey-baby, Hyundai's overprotective Kevin Hart, and Apartments.com's skyscraper-scaling Jeff Goldblum were among the most buzzed-about commercials from Super Bowl 50 (L).
But if you watched the game in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut you may have noticed a healthcare ad that provided more than celebrity cameos and shock value.
Northwell Health's (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) 30-second Super Bowl spot provided some much-needed relief from over-the-top beer commercials by showcasing some of the first babies born at the health system in 2016. The spot is part of the 21-hospital health system's broader rebranding campaign to spread awareness that North Shore-LIJ Health System has taken on the Northwell moniker.
"We have a series of commercials that are planned for release over the course of the year—we simply decided to place the most relevant ad on the Super Bowl," says Ramon Soto, Northwell's senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer.
"We wanted to focus on a celebration of life, capturing the first babies born at Northwell Health hospitals."
The Super Bowl Ad that Almost Wasn't
While the ad had long been planned, broadcasting it during the most-watched sporting event in the year at first didn't appear to be in the cards.
Northwell leadership initially negotiated an advertising package with CBS, the network that aired the Super Bowl, but ultimately deemed it too expensive. When the health system's executives reported this to the board, however, fate—and a generous donor—stepped in.
"While we were providing an update to our board on our brand launch and the success and momentum we were having, we also shared with them that we had decided to forgo advertising on the Super Bowl," Soto says. "Graciously a board member talked to our CEO after the meeting and offered to fund the spot."
Northwell would not disclose what they paid for their regional ad, which reached an estimated 3 million to 3.5 million viewership, but CBS reportedly charged up to $5 million for nationwide-airing commercials, which reached about 114 million viewers.
A Rebranding Campaign Springboard
In addition to the main ad that ran during the second quarter, two more Northwell ads, focusing on innovation, ran during pregame coverage.
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Ramon Soto |
Beyond driving awareness for the health system's name change, the goal of Northwell's Super Bowl ads was "to highlight the innovation that is taking place at Northwell Health, which is at the very core of this institution, and to share that message with the New York regional market in a compelling and unique way," Soto says. "We talk about how we are market leaders and how our 61,000 sets of eyes look at healthcare differently—not just raising our standard of healthcare, but raising the standard of healthcare."
Northwell marketers hope the Super Bowl ad placement will build on the "Look North" rebranding campaign's momentum, using it as a springboard to tell an integrated story via social media, digital, and paid media.
"We want to tell our story in a very emotional way, but we don't want to follow our competitors," Soto says. "The ad that you [saw in the Super Bowl] is a very positive ad that celebrates life. The tagline is meant to reinforce that we are your partner along your healthcare journey and that there is no other place you need to look for your healthcare needs… Look north!"
The two 30-second pre-game ads highlighted several innovations created by some of the health system's more than 61,000 employees.
"As the most-watched event on American television, the Super Bowl is a powerful venue to tell our story of innovation. The Super Bowl is only the first in a series of impactful venues we will use to tell our story in the marketplace," Soto says.
"You will see Northwell Health stand apart from its competitors and display world-class work that breaks us out from much of the fear-based and testimonial-based advertising that dominates this category. We are literally shaping the future of healthcare and it is a very powerful place to be in our storytelling."
Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.