// By Lisa D. Ellis // The faces of two beautiful toddlers practically jump off the Star Telegram’s website, their vibrant expressions and sparkling eyes captured so clearly on the screen that it’s hard to believe that both of these youngsters are no longer living. Tragically, these children—who did not know each other but are Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Piedmont Healthcare’s prescription for staying current in the competitive marketplace includes partnering with Walgreens, one of the largest drugstore chains in the United States. To this end, Piedmont will take over operation of quick-care clinics in 27 Walgreens stores in the metro Atlanta region starting this August. This will Read More
// By Ken Robbins // Much has been written about marketing health care products and services to millennials, and for good reason. Since millennials are coming into disposable income and are extremely health-conscious, it makes good sense to understand how to reach them. But marketers cannot afford to overlook other generations. More focus should be Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // “Health care heresies?” No doubt about it. Since April of this year, a New York advertising agency called Brandfire has been committing the advertising equivalent of heresy on behalf of North Memorial Health, a respected Minneapolis-St. Paul area hospital system with two hospitals, some 650 beds, Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Have you ever truly wondered what it’s like to walk in your patients’ shoes? Many health care marketers today view patient experience in the context of how well a person interacts within the various touchpoints of his/her health care system, as well as by how satisfied the patients are Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Some of the latest headlines from top academic medical centers today seem more fitting for ESPN than for a health care brand. This is thanks to the fact that a growing number of organizations are signing increasingly complex and integrated agreements with NFL, MLB, and NBA teams. Just these Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // If somebody ever produces a list of the best places in America to get sick, Cleveland will have to be high on the list. The 1.2 million people of Cleveland and surrounding Cuyahoga County have a choice of three teaching hospitals. One of them, Cleveland Clinic, Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // What do the peach orchards of Northern California and most major health systems have in common? There are actually more commonalities than you might think, according to Ritch K. Eich, who worked on several ranches to earn his way through college before going on to build an impressive career Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // At a children’s hospital in Massachusetts, families of patients trying to park their cars in the very crowded multilevel garage will find a valet waiting at the top level to take the vehicle for them if the lot is full. This helps to relieve parents’ stress and makes a Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // The fate of the American health care system is currently unknown as a new health care plan is making its way through Congress, raising many questions for people working in health care organizations, as well as for the patients they serve. How can you be sure your organization is Read More
// By John Brand // Consumer engagement is one of those terms-of-the-moment in marketing to which marketers apply a variety of meanings. At St. Luke’s University Health Network, a seven-hospital health system spread across northeastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey, we define it as compelling consumers to take action on behalf of our brand, primarily Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // What trends should be on your radar screen as you navigate the ever-changing health care field? Find out what a group of experts say is coming down the road so you can help your organization be prepared for whatever comes next. SHSMD’s Futurescan 2017-2022: Health Care Trends and Implications Read More
// By Tom Mone // No hospital public relations or marketing department is sitting around looking for something to do. In truth, there are few departments within a hospital that juggle more responsibilities, impact the organization’s brand as dramatically, or have as visible a role in telling the hospital’s story. That said, there is one Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Circus performers who walk the tightrope receive extensive training to prevent falls. But medical personnel who represent their health care organizations are often much less savvy about how to avoid taking a misstep when they enter the complex world of social media. As a result, health systems can suffer Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // This post accompanies the article, Putting Micro-Moments to Work for Your Organization: Q and A with Google’s Ben Killmer. “The trend toward mobile is changing everything,” says Stewart Gandolf, MBA, CEO, and creative director of Healthcare Success. “It’s not just people talking on their mobile phones but today mobile Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Clinical service department profitability is a constant challenge for hospitals. But what’s changed is just about everything else. It probably comes as no surprise that in 2017, people are relying on smartphones more than ever before. And most of them go beyond using these devices to make calls, send Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Industrialist Henry Ford (1863-1947) manufactured the first affordable mass-produced car in the early 1900s, striving to improve the quality of life for many middle-class Americans. Now a full century later, the Henry Ford Health System is following his tradition by strengthening its marketing efforts to reach residents from all Read More
// By Eric Brody // Your health system or hospital story doesn’t matter—until it does. What matters is simply how your story fits into the lives of your audience. This simple concept is tough to deliver on, but it’s also critical to your success as a health care marketer. It really comes down to the Read More
Notable Healthcare Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // In the Champlain Valley of upstate New York, where the nearest big city is Plattsburgh, population just short of 20,000, and the prevailing ethos is blue collar, 300-bed Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital had a problem. “ When you think of the kind of male who lives in Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // The little girl getting wheeled into surgery is about 11 years old—and not at all like any other little girl you’ve seen in TV spots about surgery. She’s a quick-thinking, fast-talking, smart mouth. But then, so is the pediatric surgeon who accompanies her. The girl asks, Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Augusta University Health System is no stranger to change. Over the past five years, it has undergone several rebranding campaigns and two consolidations. Yet through all of these fluctuations, one thing has remained the same: the need to find new and more efficient ways to improve its reputation and Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // A new educational campaign led by Lenox Hill Hospital has rallied together an impressive array of big and small public and private groups in New York City to fight against a common problem: the incidence of diabetes in the Latino community. Rallying Around a Common Problem “Hispanics are almost Read More
// By Terrence Tucker // When parents have children with fevers or a bout of stomach flu, whether they need a general practitioner or a specialist, they’ll generally look for doctors who are close to them. Even if the need isn’t immediate and patients are just looking for a physical exam, six out of 10 Read More
// By Ryan Hanser // Here’s important context for health care marketing in 2017: Attention and trust continue to decline across the country. Year over year, America appears to be witnessing the collapse of expertise and institutional trust. Sure, we still have knowledgeable specialists—doctors, for starters. The trouble is that people increasingly reject the authority Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // If you or a family member broke an ankle or dislocated a shoulder, what if you could just use an app on your smartphone to schedule a visit at a nearby orthopedic urgent care center and, at the same time, also arrange for an Uber driver to transport you? Read More