Kaiser Permanente premiered its fifth season of ads during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics with a message for the world: "Thrive."
Previously, the campaign's creative and messages focused on prevention, wellness, and "thriving" at every stage of life. The newest theme will be "Spread Health" and will highlight the work that the organization has done to spread health knowledge to the community.
"I think the best way to describe it as an extension of the campaign which has been underway for four years now," says Christine Paige, senior vice president of marketing and Internet services for Kaiser Permanente. "The campaign has focused on our approach to total health—this view takes it more into the community and the world."
The current campaign uses a multi-integrated approach featuring TV spots that premiered during the opening ceremonies for viewers in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Georgia, and parts of Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii.
Launching the TV spots during the start of the Olympics was a strategic move based on reaching Kaiser's target consumer. "People who are interested in health and the kind of message that we are trying to send are also interested in the Olympics," says Paige. "Plus August is always the time we launch campaigns, so timing-wise it also worked out well."
Kaiser also plans to explore non-traditional advertising approaches such as bus and train wraps, cinema spots, ads in public transit areas, and displays in gyms.
Overall, Paige says, the campaign has been a success since its rollout in 2004. "The campaign has performed beautifully for us," says Paige. "It has moved our perception indexes with both consumers and employer customers. And it's also been a tremendous hit internally and a motivator as well."
Kandace McLaughlin is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. Send her Campaign Spotlight ideas at kmclaughlin@healthleadersmedia.com If you are a marketer submitting a campaign on behalf of your facility or client, please ensure you have permission before doing so.
Even though marketers say they value the consumer voice, brand feedback and "contact us," forms are rather unfriendly. They are one-dimensional and only allow for written comments. You never see a feedback form that allows customers to post links, photos, audio clips, or videos, for example. And in some categories, such as healthcare or pharmaceuticals, you are lucky if you even see a contact-us form.
Heath Ledger's death might turn out to have a silver lining for drug marketers, prompting the public to finally pay attention to drug safety efforts. Pharma marketers are launching a campaign to dissuade consumers—namely teenagers—from abusing over-the-counter and prescription medication.
There is likely no other form of marketing communications more compelling than word-of-mouth, the recommendation from a person you like and trust. It's no wonder that virtually every business-to-business marketer prizes it. But some businesses, especially on the B2B side, rely far too heavily on organic word-of-mouth strategies and, specifically, on acquiring new customers primarily through referrals, according to this article in Marketing Profs.
Blogger Keith Jennings notes that the Olympics has the torch relay, medal ceremonies backed by national anthems, and opening and closing ceremonies. Hamilton Medical Center, in Dalton GA, has the annual Love Light Tree during the winter holidays. The American Cancer Society has the "Relay for Life," he adds. Jennings then asks marketers what do you (or can you) offer that brings people together year after year that garners tremendous publicity and good will?
So I'm thinking of taking a part-time job as a healthcare secret shopper or mystery patient. In the past year, I have been to five different hospitals as a family member or, most recently, as a patient. And since, in the past, I've railed about poor customer service and dirty bathrooms, I figured this time I ought to give credit where credit is due.
On Friday afternoon I went straight from my doctor's office to a nearby community hospital, which squeezed me in for an emergency CT-scan because there was, my doctor told me, a 10% chance I had appendicitis.
(A side note: I'm not writing this column from my hospital bed, and I didn't need an appendectomy. The moral: Never go to your primary care physician with a mysterious stomach pain on a Friday afternoon, because she will go to the ends of the earth to get a diagnosis before you ruin her weekend.)
It's been pouring rain for about two months straight here, and this afternoon was no exception. And, of course, I'd forgotten my umbrella. Which is why I was so relieved to see a clear sign at the entrance to the hospital parking lot directing me to the free valet parking. My very first experience at this hospital on this day was a positive one. And so was the second: The woman behind the window at the front desk greeted me immediately and pleasantly directed me to radiology.
Of course, by the time I got off the elevators, I couldn't remember if she said to take a right and then a left or a left and then a right. I stood there for a while. I was overwhelmed because this had all happened so quickly, worried that my appendix was about to burst, and now confused about which way to go.
And that's when a hospital employee came over to me and said "You look a little lost." And then, rather than just giving me directions to radiology, he actually walked me to my destination.
"Hey," I said. "You must read my columns." (OK, I didn't really say that, but I'd like to think he does.)
And this wasn't a fluke—it wasn't just one guy who took pity on a pathetic-looking patient. Later, I saw a physician in a white coat walking an elderly woman to her destination. After they parted ways with a smile, I heard the older woman say to herself, "Well, wasn't that nice of her?"
Guess what? You can spend $50,000 on a slick TV and radio campaign. You can spend a million dollars on the latest piece of equipment. You can spend half a billion building a new wing or tower.
But being nice is free.
There should not be a hospital in the world that cannot manage to pull this off. What could possibly be stopping you? Is it too hard, too expensive, to train your employees to say hello? To make eye contact? To smile? To be friendly?
In fact, it is neither difficult nor expensive. In staff meetings, talk about the power of being kind. Put the occasional reminder in the employee newsletter that the little things make a difference. Reward employees when you catch them doing something nice. Shout it from the rooftops when a patient or family member writes a letter of thanks. Celebrate when patient satisfaction scores improve. Hire people who know how to smile. (Or, as a last desperate measure, hire me to be a mystery patient at your hospital.)
And the return on that miniscule investment? Better patient satisfaction, which leads to better HCAHPS scores, which leads to better quality rankings, which leads to a better reputation, which can make folks, when they have a choice of where to go for care, choose you.
Being nice isn't just free—it's a good investment.
Gienna Shaw is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. She can be reached at gshaw@healthleadersmedia.com.
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