// By Paul Wood // What if your hospital is suddenly the center of national media attention for all the wrong reasons? What if a catastrophic event occurs and you must respond immediately? Do you know what to do? Do you have a crisis communications plan in place? In this article, Paul Wood, vice president Read More
More and more, health care marketing and PR are coming together with a common goal of advancing organizational objectives. Gone are the days when marketing and public relations functions competed for funding, worked in silos, or thought that one side of the house was more creative than the other. Truth is, there’s plenty of creativity to Read More
// By Wendy Stark Healy // One less silo would be welcome news for any health care organization. More and more, marketing and PR are coming together with a common goal of advancing organizational objectives. In this article, we hear from three marketing and PR leaders who share their perspectives on how the landscape has Read More
This may not be what hospital communicators signed on to deal with, but it can — and did — happen. How would you handle the ensuing human and PR crisis? On September 12, 2017, a Rhode Island man drove up to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and entered the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where his mother was recovering from an aneurysm. According to news reports and indictments filed against him, the man asked for some time alone with his mother. Once they were alone, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot her four times, killing her.
This may not be what hospital communicators signed on to deal with, but it can — and did — happen. How would you handle the ensuing human and PR crisis? On September 12, 2017, a Rhode Island man drove up to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and entered the intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where his mother was recovering from an aneurysm. According to news reports and indictments filed against him, the man asked for some time alone with his mother. Once they were alone, he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot her four times, killing her.
How do you stand out in the crowd — especially when your #1 competitor is a world-famous brand? Pamela Maas, Gundersen’s chief business development and marketing officer, was able to overcome this challenge. “It seemed like so many systems in health care were looking and feeling exactly the same,” she says. “We recognized that brand positioning was really about building an emotional connection with consumers.” In Peter’s latest column, we’ll see how a new campaign triggered a deluge of fan mail — accolades from patients who had been touched by Gundersen staff members.
“Last month, this column dealt with two advertising campaigns that you’d never guess were for hospitals — at least not until the last few seconds when a hospital logo appeared,” says copywriter and Strategic Health Care Marketing contributor Peter Hochstein. “In recent years, marketing people I’ve interviewed at hospitals and their advertising agencies have more or Read More
When is the last time you received from your employer an email or text so enticing you wanted to open it right away? Most likely, the answer is “never.” That’s because most employee communications are talking at you or providing you with information they want you to have, but they somehow miss the boat entirely Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // Last month, this column dealt with two advertising campaigns that you’d never guess were for hospitals — at least not until the last few seconds when a hospital logo appeared. In the interest of population health, one campaign demonstrated how to make a healthy and eye-appealing Read More
In today’s hectic world, it’s the little things that matter, especially when it comes to making life a bit more convenient. And when this convenience brings tangible benefits to families with young kids, including those with chronic medical needs, it can be enough to spark a compelling public relations angle that has real traction. When Children’s Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // When is the last time you received from your employer an email or text so enticing you wanted to open it right away? Most likely, the answer is “never.” That’s because most employee communications are talking at you or providing you with information they want you to have, but Read More
Learn How Low-Key Marketing Campaign Has Moved the Needle with Facebook Live // By Lisa D. Ellis // Sometimes the simplest plans are the most effective. That’s what one health system discovered when it stumbled onto a no-cost way to share its expertise across its target area. In the process, it also succeeded in spotlighting Read More
Bay Area Regional Medical Center, in Webster, Texas, first opened its doors in July 2014. As an independent facility in the Houston Bay Area not affiliated with any larger systems or networks, it had to work hard at first to establish its reputation in an already crowded market. “Initially the goal was to find a Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // In today’s hectic world, it’s the little things that matter, especially when it comes to making life a bit more convenient. And when this convenience brings tangible benefits to families with young kids, including those with chronic medical needs, it can be enough to spark a compelling public relations Read More
Competing for — and winning — awards can be an important part of your health care organization’s marketing strategy. Awards can help you raise awareness about your service lines, driving new business; recognize individual employees as leaders, improving staff morale and elevating performance standards; and promote your organization as a stellar workplace, helping to attract Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Competing for — and winning — awards can be an important part of your health care organization’s marketing strategy. Awards can help you raise awareness about your service lines, driving new business; recognize individual employees as leaders, improving staff morale and elevating performance standards; and promote your organization as Read More
When the movie Wonder was released in fall 2017, sharing the fictional story of a fifth-grader named Auggie coping with a facial difference called Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), Dayton Children’s Hospital saw this as an exciting opportunity to raise awareness about groundbreaking treatments offered for children with TCS through its own Craniofacial Center. “We do Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // When the movie Wonder was released in fall 2017, sharing the fictional story of a fifth-grader named Auggie coping with a facial difference called Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS), Dayton Children’s Hospital saw this as an exciting opportunity to raise awareness about groundbreaking treatments offered for children with TCS through Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // Any number of hospitals post videos on the internet featuring their doctors and other staff discussing their institutions and specialties. Too often, these standup “talking head” presentations feel unspontaneous and uncomfortable. Eyes shift nervously as speakers obviously read from cue cards. Language that looked good on Read More
Have you incorporated audio content in your health care communications strategy? If not, you could be missing an opportunity to engage prospective patients who live in your service communities, and to position your organization as a leader to referring physicians across the country. While some health systems dabble in producing radio content and developing podcasts Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // Have you incorporated audio content in your health care communications strategy? If not, you could be missing an opportunity to engage prospective patients who live in your service communities, and to position your organization as a leader to referring physicians across the country. Learn how one health system leads Read More
What’s old is new again at Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Methodist recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, and this milestone provided a valuable opportunity for the health system to build on its past to position itself for the future. While most health care systems pride themselves on being ahead of the curve when it comes Read More
The SHCM Editorial Advisory Board is made up of leaders in the health care marketing field who are committed to shaping the future of the industry. They offer ongoing feedback on our editorial coverage, write occasional articles, and point us to developments and people SHCM members like you should know about. I’m very pleased to Read More
// By Lisa D. Ellis // What’s old is new again at Methodist Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Methodist recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, and this milestone provided a valuable opportunity for the health system to build on its past to position itself for the future. Read on to find out how a multifaceted campaign helped Read More
Veteran copywriter and regular SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein suggests an interesting proposition: “Run some hospital advertising that flat out calls your potential patients nerds. Nah, come to think of it, that probably wouldn’t work, and might prompt some irate letters to your CEO. Well then, how about offering advice that sounds financial, and encourages people to ‘go Read More