How the Mayo Clinic “Localized” Its Established Global Brand

The internationally known Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is among the world’s few destination medical facilities. Popular perceptions were, and probably still are, that it’s where you go for the gravest cases, the ones that can’t be handled wherever else in the world you live.

Patrick Hunt

But now, in addition to its destination facility in Rochester, with satellites in Arizona and Florida, the Mayo Clinic has acquired 70 different community hospitals and clinics in the upper Midwest.

While these facilities offer what Patrick Hunt, Chairman and CEO of Hunt Adkins, the Mayo Clinic’s advertising agency, describes as “at your doorstep-type facilities from the world’s leading health care provider,” there was a branding disconnect that needed to be rectified.

Adam Brase

“We had a fair body of consumer data that showed us that people somehow knew Mayo Clinic was tied to these local community practices, but weren’t sure what it meant,” says Adam Brase, Division Chair—Marketing, Mayo Clinic, says.

Further, he adds, “Most folks would associate our brand with highly specialized health care. They did not typically associate us with primary and community care, and in these markets, that was an important distinction for us.”

So with the assistance of Hunt Adkins, a regional campaign was launched in 2010 to “help consumers in those markets understand the Mayo Clinic connection—and particularly the benefit to them in their local communities.”

Read Peter Hochstein’s new article to learn about the initial campaign, how it changed significantly over time, and why. Plus you’ll get some valuable tips for health care marketers from Patrick Hunt. Go there now: Going Local: Mayo Clinic Adapts Its International Reputation to Nearby Markets and Facilities in the Upper Midwest.

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