Long Live Everyone — Geisinger’s Brand Campaign, Created Before the Pandemic, Is the Right Message During the Pandemic
View from the C-Suite: Don Stanziano, Chief Marketing Officer, Geisinger
// By Sheryl S. Jackson //
Health care marketers know that building a successful brand is not just about new logos, taglines, and ads. The brand must accurately reflect the vision and beliefs that make up the culture of the organization, drive all strategic decisions, and form the foundation for communications with all audiences.
“If your brand is authentic, you can lean into it during a crisis,” says Don Stanziano, MHA, APR, chief marketing and communications officer for Geisinger. Citing COVID-19 as a true test of Geisinger’s recent rebranding, he is proud to report that not only did the brand prove to be an accurate reflection of the health system but the work that went into developing the brand platform allowed the marketing communications team to quickly pivot from “planned marketing activities” to “communications support for the crisis.”
Don Stanziano, chief marketing and communications officer at Geisinger
It has been a busy two years for Stanziano and the marketing communications team at Geisinger since he arrived in January 2018. The health system has transitioned to a new chief executive officer, undergone a rebranding effort, managed a few crisis communications incidents, merged marketing communications teams of the provider and payer sides of the health system, and implemented a CRM system. Of course, the most recent action item on Stanziano’s to-do list was managing communications during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout the reopening efforts.