Arkansas Children’s Leverages Strategic Marketing to Support Growth
// By Jane Weber Brubaker //
What should a high-performing marketing function in a health system look like? And how do you leverage marketing to support growth?
As the only children’s hospital in the state of Arkansas, with greater than 90 percent awareness, Arkansas Children’s had historically not prioritized marketing, says Carla Bryant, executive vice president of Corrigan Consulting. “While they had a marketing department, it was more focused on internal communications than strategic marketing,” Bryant says.
Carla Bryant, executive vice president at Corrigan Consulting
New leadership brought a new vision for the future of Arkansas Children’s. Marcy Doderer came on board as president and CEO in 2013 and has been leading the transformation of Arkansas Children’s into a health system focused on growth throughout the state and an expanded reputation regionally and nationally. The system received recognition in five specialties in the 2019-20 U.S. News & World Report national rankings of Best Children’s Hospitals, a testament to its progress.
As part of the systemwide transformation, the marketing department is being retooled to better support the organization’s growth initiatives. It is transitioning from a marcom focus to a strategic focus under the leadership of Jeff House, who joined the system in October 2017 as vice president of strategic marketing. We spoke with House and Bryant about how the department’s transformation is unfolding, and how the team today is adding value across the enterprise.