Trying to break through the clutter to capture market share and top of mind awareness requires a good balance of planning, creativity in your branding, and proper media placement. For Stamford (CT) Hospital, it took six years of program development and organizing of their service lines before they were ready to grow and assert their position within the market.
Facing a crowded marketplace, Stamford's focus was to stand out. "It's a very cluttered advertising market for hospitals, and all the ads look alike and contain too much information," says David Smith, senior vice president of strategy and marketing solutions for Stamford. "The ads for this campaign are designed to be visually intriguing, to break through the clutter, be non-hospital like, be simple, dramatic, say one thing clearly, and be smart and sophisticated." Stamford, with assistance from SPM Marketing & Communications in LaGrange, IL, managed to convey all those characteristics in the campaign.
One particular piece shows a shadow image of a man balancing a crutch, advertising Stamford's orthopedic service line and group rehabilitation program. The copy, "Discover more at a hospital that offers an orthopedic group rehabilitation program with proven results for a faster recovery," fully conveys concepts the campaign wishes to get across with the backing of different, animated imagery.
The use of purple as a backdrop and the "discover more" theme are recurring elements throughout the campaign. Using direct mail publications, radio, and print, Stamford relied on their creativity and simple branding to get their message across.
The campaign is still running, but results so far have been positive. "Our pretests with focus groups showed that it achieved what we wanted: people knew more about our capabilities, saw the affiliation [we have] with New York Presbyterian Healthcare, and looked to us as more of a regional medical center," says Smith.
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.
The pharmaceutical industry is now acknowledging that it needs a new marketing strateggy after experiencing waning patience from Congress, incredulousness from the medical community and growing angst among the general public. As a result of this unrest, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is examining how it brings medications to market.
Some companies are realizing that waiting rooms provide a marketing opportunity, and are outfitting them with television and interactive touch screens, which promote products and educate patients about ailments and procedures.
A new study from the Advertising Research Foundation has found that event marketing can increase a consumer's purchase intent by up to 52 percent. Purchase intent rose 11 percent to 52 percent among consumers who attended brand-sponsored events such as sports championships, walkathons and theme park sponsorships, according to the "Engaging Events Pay Out" study.
Hospital ads are posted mainly as a component of creating a broader brand identity. In this regard, they are remarkably similar to many other corporate ads. But unlike other industries that use it to drive sales, brand identity in the medical field is probably minimally important in generating and maintaining a sufficient level of clinical business. Perhaps more important, it helps create a mindset that the hospital has standing and stature and permanence in the community.
In last week's column, I praised the SMDC Health System in Duluth, MN, which banned all pharmaceutical promotional products--from pens to whiteboards to squishy stress balls from their halls. I thought it was well worth the estimated $100,000 it would cost them to buy their own supplies to avoid the impression--true or not--that drug company reps could buy them with cheap trinkets. A reader who said he used to work in the pharmaceutical industry and now works with drug companies as a consultant, begged to differ. "I would hate for people to go into their doctor's office and start to think badly of their doctor because they see a Viagra pen," he wrote.
In his e-mail, the consultant suggested doctors deserve more credit than I gave them.
What a silly article. When I go to my doctor's office, the last thing I think about is that my doctor is being influenced by a pen that a drug rep gave them. I know firsthand, so no, I'm not being naive. Give your doctor more credit than that.
Managed care has squeezed doctors' margins enough. So what if some office supplies are given to them by a drug rep? I wonder how SMDC passed along the extra $100,000 they are spending on office supplies? I'd rather have my doctor using the Internet to search Medscape for best clinical studies and articles instead of Staples.com and OfficeMax.com looking for the cheapest pen. I worry more about the quality of the interactions between patient and doctor as the doctor cattles more patients through the office due to managed care pressures.
The reality is that a pen or clipboard won't influence a doctor's prescribing. In the '80s or even early '90s, drug companies could more easily unduly influence a doctor's prescribing with larger incentives like trips mentioned in your article. Trips and other major incentives are just not prevalent anymore. Today, many honorable drug companies and reps can truly partner with a physician to improve the patient experience.
In an e-mail response, however, another reader took a different view, saying that drug advertising--not the cost of office supplies--has contributed to increased healthcare costs.
I thoroughly enjoyed your article. I have been involved in healthcare for more than 30 years. Many if not most changes are for the good. However, I would like to see an analysis of the sudden increase in cost of healthcare, the portion of that increase that is pharmaceuticals, and its association to the public advertising of prescription drugs that has opened up in the last 10 years.
My surgeons say that since the approval of public advertising of prescription drugs, they are being constantly badgered by their patients for drugs they don't need. However, if the surgeon consistently refuses to prescribe, the patient will leave and seek a surgeon that will. Therefore, it is the opinion of many surgeons that, if the requested drug is not harmful, they will go ahead and prescribe it in order to keep their patient. Carolyn E. Skaff, CEO ASC Durango at Mercy Regional Medical Center Durango
And an on-line commenter painted a vivid picture of the "invasion" of drug reps and the physicians who encourage them.
Your article was "spot on!" In my previous position as COO of a large, multi-specialty clinic (70 physicians, two large office complexes about 5 miles apart), the drug reps were everywhere, and during the lunch hour it was almost like an invasion.
Tons of freebies throughout the facility, and different vendors were actually scheduled on a rotating basis to bring lunch on different days of the week to each of the different clinics. When food arrived, the aroma permeated the air, and made patients wonder what the priority was . . . lunch or their care, as staff members would disappear, reappear, then disappear again . . . some shoving food in their mouths before resuming duties, or bringing plates of food back to their work areas, in view of the patients.
One time, when there was an obvious schedule mix up, and one clinic did not have anyone bring them lunch, the physician director of that clinic called the drug rep he thought should have been there and told him in no uncertain terms that no lunch meant no further visits. Lunch arrived about 45 minutes later.
One provider even gave the building security access code to one of the drug reps so she could get in and out of the back door of the clinic more easily with food, without disrupting the clinic operations. Although senior management (non-physicians) were able to make some changes, the physician-owned group called the shots, and they were not about to give up their lunches. It was absolutely ridiculous to see the anger or foul words generated over schedule mix-ups or food that was not as good as the next clinic had.
Congratulations for bringing this issue forward. I think it is a long overdue lesson for everyone.
So what do you think? Was I spot-on, or did I miss the mark? Do drug reps improve the patient experience? Or just fill up physicians' tummies? You know what I think--now I want to hear what you think. Leave a comment on the site (just click on the button at the bottom or top of this column) and maybe I'll send you a HealthLeaders Media pen.
Gienna Shaw is an editor with HealthLeaders magazine. She can be reached at gshaw@healthleadersmedia.com.