Sales and Promotion

“What Goes On in That New Building?” VCU Health Offers a Soft-Sell Explanation with Equal Parts Nostalgia, Induced Guilt, and Romantic Playfulness

Susan Dubuque, principal, NDP

// By Peter Hochstein // Can simple charm compete for share-of-mind in a hot health care marketplace? Yes, if the charm is really charming enough. Here’s how it works in Richmond, Virginia. This probably isn’t the first time you’ve seen a bicycle treated so callously. It stands in a dusty garage, surrounded by other carelessly Read More

Two Seattle-Area Hospitals Team Up with the Seahawks To Fight Cancer

Tom Kruse, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at CHI Franciscan

“If you didn’t know the whole story, you’d think last October 20 was a less-than-glorious Sunday in Seattle,” writes SHCM contributor Peter Hochstein. “It was a football day, of course, and the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Baltimore Ravens 30-16. But for two local hospitals, Virginia Mason Health System, with about 600 licensed beds, and Read More

Was It the Seahawks vs. Cancer Game? Not Exactly. But When Two Seattle Area Hospitals Teamed Up with Their Local Football Team, They Scored Big Dividends.

Kerry Shannon, senior vice president, strategy and business development at Virginia Mason

// By Peter Hochstein // Properly done, the participation of sports teams can create impressive visibility and emotional involvement for a cancer awareness promotion. Here’s what it produced for the State of Washington’s Virginia Mason Health System and CHI Franciscan. If you didn’t know the whole story, you’d think last October 20 was a less-than-glorious Read More

Health Care Organizations Succeeding with Medicare Advantage Plans

John Lovelace, president of government programs at UPMC Health Plan

Hospital and physician-owned Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have seen double-digit growth since 2015. Axios, which tracks membership data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), reports that the largest organization in this category, Kaiser Permanente, grew 23 percent from 2015 to 2018, to almost 1.6 million members. The other 40 or so hospital- and Read More

Is a Hospital-Sponsored Medicare Advantage Plan Right for Your Organization?

Wendy Stark Healy

// By Wendy Stark Healy // Medicare Advantage Plans have become a popular choice among Medicare recipients, and health systems are staking their claim to the market. Some health systems have had insurance arms for years, and others are just launching their plans. Done correctly, hospital-sponsored Medicare Advantage plans offer an attractive opportunity for health Read More

Think Like a Hacker To Outsmart Your Competition

Walker-Jessica-Care-Sherpa

“Faced with competitors who may have bigger marketing budgets and more resources, many health care marketers feel powerless in the battle for market growth,” says Jessica Walker, founder and CEO of Care Sherpa. “Thinking like a hacker may help you outsmart the competition. Five proven hacks for market share growth require little to no money Read More

5 Proven Hacks for Growing Profitable Market Share

Walker-Jessica-Care-Sherpa

How to think like a hacker to outsmart your competition // By Jessica Walker // Faced with competitors who may have bigger marketing budgets and more resources, many health care marketers feel powerless in the battle for market growth. Thinking like a hacker may help you outsmart the competition. Five proven hacks for market share Read More

A High-Touch Health Care Marketing Success Story

Terri Hanlon-Bremer, vice president of employer solutions, TriHealth

“In the occupational medicine business, quality service delivery is the differentiator,” says Terri Hanlon-Bremer, vice president of employer solutions at TriHealth in Cincinnati. “If a company is not happy with your service, they will quickly change to another provider.” Health care marketers are always looking for new ways to reach consumers through social media platforms, Read More

How To Stand Out in a Crowded Subspecialty

Mark Kriegsman, senior director of marketing communications and strategy, Orthopaedic Institute for Children

Pediatric hospitals and other facilities that treat children face a number of marketing challenges that health providers treating adults do not face. The two most significant barriers health care marketers must overcome are that they are marketing to parents, not the actual potential patient, and that parents do not want to think about children being Read More

Pediatric Orthopedics Leverages Sports Medicine to Reach Parents

Mark Kriegsman, senior director of marketing communications and strategy, Orthopaedic Institute for Children

// By Sheryl S. Jackson // Treatment for musculoskeletal conditions in children is a subspecialty within a subspecialty. How do you stand out in a highly competitive field? Los Angeles-based Orthopaedic Institute for Children has achieved success using its Sports Medicine Center and community outreach to extend brand and name recognition. Pediatric hospitals and other Read More

Direct, Personal Approach to Marketing Works for Occupational Medicine Programs

Sheryl S. Jackson

// By Sheryl S. Jackson // “In the occupational medicine business, quality service delivery is the differentiator,” says Terri Hanlon-Bremer, vice president of employer solutions at TriHealth in Cincinnati. “If a company is not happy with your service, they will quickly change to another provider.” TriHealth has found that good old-fashioned face-to-face relationship building is Read More

The Key Components of an Effective Health Care Marketing Plan

Health Care Marketing Plans That Work - book cover

If you’ve ever had a physician demand a billboard that wasn’t in your budget — and who hasn’t? — you can attest to the value of a well-constructed marketing plan. It gives you a blueprint to guide your marketing activities throughout the year, and arms you to defend against misguided requests. What are the components Read More

How to Develop a Marketing Plan That Works

David Marlowe

// By Jane Weber Brubaker // If you’ve ever had a physician demand a billboard that wasn’t in your budget — and who hasn’t? — you can attest to the value of a well-constructed marketing plan. It gives you a blueprint to guide your marketing activities throughout the year, and arms you to defend against Read More

Do Hospital Awards Drive Consumer Decisions?

Wax Custom Communications Logo

2018 National Consumer Survey: Value of Hospital Awards Results

A Strategic Health Care Marketing webinar on demand for health care marketers, communicators, and strategists.

Your Presenters:

Craig Fairfield and Amanda Herriman

Duration: 60 Minutes

Sponsored by Wax Custom Communications
This event is free for Strategic Health Care Marketing members to view thanks to our event sponsor.

Watch now »

Is Your Culture Undermining Your Engagement Efforts?

Donald Wee, CEO, Tri-State Memorial Hospital and Medical Campus

What message is your organization’s culture sending to your employees? If it doesn’t tell the people you employ that you value their input, you’re missing an important chance to get them more engaged in your day-to-day operations. You may also be losing out on a valuable differentiator in a competitive marketplace. At Tri-State Memorial Hospital Read More

Accelerating Success with Marketing Automation: How Scripps Health Drives Patient Journeys

Scripps Health

A Strategic Health Care Marketing webinar on demand for health care marketers, communicators, and strategists.

EvariantSponsored by Evariant
This on-demand webinar is free for members thanks to our event sponsor.

Your Presenters:

  • Christy Clay, Senior Director, System Marketing, Scripps Health
  • Jane Hong, Senior Director, Care Line Marketing, Scripps Health
  • Rachel Neely, Senior Healthcare Consultant, Evariant

Christy Clay, Jane Hong, and Rachel Neely

Watch now »

Christine Woolsey: Bringing Two Health Systems Together as SCL Health

Christine Woolsey, senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer, SCL Health

Christine Woolsey began working with SCL Health — then known as Sisters of Charity Leavenworth Health System — as a public relations consultant helping the organization manage issues and communications related to a merger with another health system. In 2010, she joined SCL as senior vice president and chief communications and marketing officer. “At the Read More

Using Experiential Marketing for Health Care: Live Events Help Connect With Your Audience

Becca Lyon, senior manager, marketing strategy at agencyEA

Some of the savviest health care marketers are reaching out to connect with people on a personal level through live events. This premise is at the heart of a growing trend called experiential marketing. According to Becca Lyon, senior manager, marketing strategy at agencyEA, “Some of the innovative ways the health care industry can leverage experiential includes using technologies like virtual reality, which allows people to experience a facility from a remote location, hosting grand openings for a new hospital or clinic, so people can come and take an in-person tour, and sponsoring a booth at a trade show to introduce new products, medications, or supplies to a large audience.”

Clearing Up Brand Confusion at Georgia Cancer Center

Aubrey Hinkson, AVP of marketing for Augusta University Health

What would you do if your ads were actually sending your customers to your competition? Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University recently faced this challenging scenario. Further complicating matters, the brand had gone through several name changes in recent years, leaving its target audience confused about what the health system was and what it stood Read More