How To Keep Your Messaging Inclusive and Non-Discriminatory

Sara Tack, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Smith & Jones

“Health care advertising often falls short of representing the various populations that hospitals and health systems serve,” says Sara Tack. “We are inclusive to a point, covering our diversity bases by featuring ads with Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. Sometimes, these images come across as pandering or obvious tokenism to the point where the entire message appears fake or trite.”

Tack is Co-Founder and Creative Director at Smith & Jones, a marketing communications agency in Troy, New York, that is exclusively focused on hospitals and health systems that compete with academic medical centers.

“The recent tragedy at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida that killed 49 people and wounded 53 more, made me think about how we are representing the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [and/or questioning] individuals/identities) community in health care marketing,” Tack says. “The victims of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting were from LGBTQ and Latino communities. Orlando Regional Medical Center doctors and staff cared for these men and women, regardless of the person’s race, religion, gender orientation, and age. They did not leave a patient behind.

“We shouldn’t either.”

For Tack’s suggestions about how to create more inclusive health care marketing campaigns, including a practical blueprint for change, read the full article now: How to Dispel Stereotypes in Health Care Marketing.

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President