“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 Read More
It used to be that if you built a good health system, people would come. But in today’s hectic world, many organizations find it necessary to extend their services to places their patients frequent instead. In fact, these days, organizations providing the highest-quality care are a given, but how that care is delivered—and where—have become the Read More
“Health care is changing—and so are health care brand campaigns,” says Daniel P. Stevens. “Building a strong health care brand in an environment that is undergoing drastic change is challenging: the switch from fee for service to value-based care; the emergence of accountable care organizations; the consolidation of hospitals—the list goes on. Sure, these shifts Read More
“A recent Accenture report found a significant correlation between superior patient experiences and higher margins for hospitals of every type and size. In an increasingly choice-driven health care industry, it’s no wonder that ‘patient-centricity’ is a buzzing topic for a variety of stakeholders—from regulators and payers to provider organizations,” says Matt Hummel, founder and President Read More
// By Daniel P. Stevens, DMD, PhD, MBA // Health care is changing—and so are health care brand campaigns. Building a strong health care brand in an environment that is undergoing drastic change is challenging: the switch from fee for service to value-based care; the emergence of accountable care organizations; the consolidation of hospitals—the list Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // How fast can you turn a ship around—a really big ship? Here’s what happened at Geisinger Health System, with 12 hospital campuses; 1,472 licensed beds combined; over 2.6 million outpatient visits annually; two research centers; 30,000 employees; 1,600 employed physicians; plus a 510,000-member health plan. All Read More
From Research to Personas in 3 Steps // By Matt Hummel // A recent Accenture report found a significant correlation between superior patient experiences and higher margins for hospitals of every type and size. In an increasingly choice-driven health care industry, it’s no wonder that “patient-centricity” is a buzzing topic for a variety of stakeholders—from Read More
What’s the best way to nurse an ailing employee newsletter back to health? For Miami Children’s Health System (MCHS), the solution to overhaul an existing internal publication in dire need of an update was to use an updated software solution that creates an interactive digital experience for staff members. As the only designated health system Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // It used to be that if you built a good health system, people would come. But in today’s hectic world, many organizations find it necessary to extend their services to places their patients frequent instead. In fact, these days, organizations providing the highest-quality care are a given, but how that Read More
// By Dennis Knox // As any golfer knows, even the most powerful swing won’t get your ball where it needs to go if you don’t follow through on the backswing. This premise also holds true off the golf course. In fact, health care organizations today need to keep the idea of follow-through in mind Read More
Peter Hochstein, our crackerjack marketing writer, likes to interview hospital marketing departments and their advertising agencies for his column. “And I often ask them identical questions. I justify this with an analogy concerning two people viewing an elephant from opposite ends,” he notes. “One party tells you the animal’s most notable feature is a skinny tail. Read More
Piedmont Health Services really means business, especially when it comes to protecting the health of the community. Back in 2009, it started a unique partnership with Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce to provide access to more affordable health services for employees of small businesses and their families. Since the high price tag associated with most Read More
Plus 6 Tips for Success with Your Organization’s Newsletter // By Lisa D. Ellis // What’s the best way to nurse an ailing employee newsletter back to health? For Miami Children’s Health System (MCHS), the solution to overhaul an existing internal publication in dire need of an update was to use an updated software solution Read More
What happens to medical supplies and equipment once the items expire? How can you mix medications and supplements safely? What are some healthful and quick lunch recipes? These are just a few of the timely topics covered on Sharp Health News, a new website run by Sharp HealthCare. The news service was launched in October Read More
3 Ways Health Care Marketers Can Make Sure Callers Become Patients // By Ken Robbins // Until recently, health care businesses often did little or no marketing as a general rule. Now, we are experiencing a seismic shift to the point where online marketing such as paid and organic search have helped it become a Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // What’s the most important part of a print ad? The headline? The story it tells? The news it contains? The offer it makes, if it makes one? A unique selling proposition? A few years back, the Little Company of Mary Hospital, a 298-bed institution on the Read More
// By Jill McDonald Halsey, APR; Dan Dunlop; and Jeff Steblea // “City of the Damned.” That’s the magazine headline that greeted Jill McDonald Halsey when she arrived as the new Chief Marketing & Communication Officer for Lawrence General Hospital in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The city of Lawrence had been dealing with a variety of challenges, Read More
Savvy health care marketers recognize that people tend to trust what they know. Therefore, it’s important to remember that new isn’t always better. The reality is that even amid the shifting priorities of the health care field, staying grounded on your past accomplishments and trying to progress from there may get you further than trying Read More
// By Jeannie Lewis // If you’re a medical supply company, compliance software manufacturer, or other provider of health care products or services targeted to hospitals, health care organizations, long-term facilities, or other types of care providers, it’s important to understand the current realities of the marketplace so you can position yourself in the best Read More
Copywriter and SHCM columnist Peter Hochstein recently spotted an interesting advertising tactic for an urgent care center: A billboard displaying the word “OOPS?” in an upward-slanted, rounded rectangle, along with the word “OUCH!” in a similar but downward-slanted rectangle. Adjacent to OOPS? and OUCH! is a headline that says “Crystal Run Urgent Care!” Hochstein was curious to know Read More
Health care marketers often look to their peers for examples to help guide their efforts to bring people in to access their programs or services. But when Access Health CT (Connecticut’s state-run health exchange) came into being in 2012 to serve as a statewide exchange making affordable health care accessible for qualified individuals and businesses through Read More
How much do you really know about your patients? If you and your staff haven’t asked the people you treat to talk about their personal experiences, their families, their careers, and the things they care about, you could be missing a valuable opportunity to connect with them on a deeper level—and you may also be Read More
// By Ritch K. Eich // One way to put a personal stamp on your marketing efforts is by using direct mail in the most strategic way. Direct mail allows health care organizations to target and reach a defined audience in a service area or community. A hybrid of publicity and advertising, it is one Read More
How much do you really know about your patients? If you and your staff haven’t asked the people you treat to talk about their personal experiences, their families, their careers, and the things they care about, you could be missing a valuable opportunity to connect with them on a deeper level—and you may also be Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // I usually try to interview hospital marketing departments and their advertising agencies for this column. And I often ask them identical questions. I justify this with an analogy concerning two people viewing an elephant from opposite ends. One party tells you the animal’s most notable feature Read More