Neuroscientific research is helping marketers better understand how to reach the inner recess of our audience’s brain, which, because it has been evolving for millennia, still makes decisions better suited for survival on the savannas of Africa than in today’s world of modern health care, according to health care marketing consultant Dan Fredricks. Understanding the Read More
Does your hospital or health system really live up to the brand portrayed in the messages you send to your audience? Honestly, does it really? If you’re like many health care groups around the nation, you may have a serious disconnect between how your internal culture operates and the image you try to convey to Read More
How to Embrace a Similar Strategy … and Keep Patients Coming Back // By Lisa Ellis // Ever wished you could get a bird’s eye view of what your competition is doing so you could use the information to sharpen your own efforts and make them more effective? Some health systems are turning to secret Read More
A picture is worth a thousand words—and that’s especially true when you’re talking about adorable babies. Premier Health, a multi-hospital southern Ohio health care system with 1,892 licensed beds and more than 868,000 annual outpatient visits, was looking for a fresh way to to reassure future moms that its health care system offers lots of birthing Read More
“A hospital ‘call center’ often has been considered an irritating expense health care organizations have to endure, because people use phones and want to reach a doctor or patient in the hospital,” Andrea Simon, Ph.D. says. “But maybe it’s time to ask, ‘What if we’ve always been wrong?’” Andrea J. Simon, Ph.D. is a corporate Read More
So let’s say you’re out to build a hospital system’s brand. And let’s also say you’re in one of the biggest markets (Dallas-Fort Worth) in one of the biggest states (Texas), competing against some of the biggest regional names in health care. While you’ve got a $2.7 million budget to work with, exclusive of direct Read More
// By Lisa Ellis // “Say it. Live it.” This concept sounds simple, right? But do you and your employees really live up to the messages you regularly send to your audience? If you’re like many health care groups around the nation, you may have a serious disconnect between how your internal culture operates and Read More
“Videos can be a powerful marketing tool for hospitals and health systems. When used to their full potential, they accomplish multiple goals, including sharing your organization’s story to attract more patients, helping your target audience understand your services, and encouraging them to take a more proactive role in caring for their health,” note Lori Moore Read More
// By Andrea Simon, Ph.D. // A hospital “call center” often has been considered an irritating expense health care organizations have to endure, because people use phones and want to reach a doctor or patient in the hospital. But maybe it’s time to ask, “What if we’ve always been wrong?” Maybe a call center actually Read More
Notable Health Care Advertising // By Peter Hochstein // So let’s say you’re out to build a hospital system’s brand. And let’s also say you’re in one of the biggest markets in one of the biggest states, competing against some of the biggest regional names in health care. Although, exclusive of direct marketing, you’ve got Read More
// By Lori Moore and Jimmy Warren // Videos can be a powerful marketing tool for hospitals and health systems. When used to their full potential, they accomplish multiple goals, including sharing your organization’s story to attract more patients, helping your target audience understand your services, and encouraging them to take a more proactive role Read More
When patients come to your hospital for services, do you take the time to spotlight your organization’s strengths and let them know how much you value their health and well-being? You should be marketing not only to prospective patients, but also to current patients when they come to your facility; you want them to know Read More
By Mike Milligan Eighty percent of CEOs don’t really trust marketers, according to a recent Fournaise Marketing Group survey of high-level decisions-makers. Eighty percent! This is painful for me to say because I’ve been on both sides of the health care marketing table. But I’ve also learned that before you can overcome a challenge, you Read More
Back in 2008, Saginaw, Michigan-based Covenant HealthCare saw an opportunity to “own the robotic surgery market in the region,” says Larry Daly, Director of Planning and Business Development at Covenant HealthCare. The specific focus was da Vinci Surgical System robots, high-tech devices increasingly used in minimally invasive surgery. “Our strategy was to purchase the latest Read More
“In health care, it isn’t just the care that’s changing,” notes Claire Hovis, Vice President and Account Director of Capstrat, an agency that helps health care clients and others tell their stories with power and persuasion. “Power is changing.” She says “expert-driven” communications—which in the past have given providers and large corporations a strong position Read More
Advertising Worth Noting By Peter Hochstein This tale begins in 2008, when the people running things at Covenant HealthCare, today a 643-bed multiple facility institution with campuses in and around Saginaw, Michigan, began hearing rumors about robots. Well, not just any robots. These were da Vinci Surgical System robots, those high-tech devices increasingly used in Read More
By Claire Hovis In health care, it isn’t just the care that’s changing. Power is changing. “Expert-driven” communications that placed providers and large corporations atop the information market are giving way to a generation of empowered consumers who are more engaged and have higher expectations. Access is changing. The Affordable Care Act has brought health Read More
Word of mouth may help to build your brand over time—but sometimes advertising really helps get the ball rolling quickly. Such was the case in and around Phoenix, Arizona, where Arizona OBGYN Affiliates (AOA), now the largest OB/GYN practice in Arizona, consolidated from several smaller practices in 2007. AOA soon found its future growth and Read More
Serving the central and northeast regions of Pennsylvania, Geisinger Health System is one of the largest rural health systems in the nation, operating nine hospitals, along with a 1,200 member multi-specialty group practice, two research centers, and a 467,000-member health plan. While some hospitals communicate with providers themselves, Geisinger decided to try a different approach, Read More
Advertising Worth Noting By Peter Hochstein You could argue that there’s nothing new about doctors running ads. In New York, one maverick dermatologist has been the star of his own earthy subway car posters for decades. They are busy horizontal spaces that simultaneously display his photograph and such things as rhyming headlines, before-and-after acne treatment Read More
As more and more people turn to the Internet to get their health information, the digital world becomes an increasingly important space for hospitals to market their services and engage with their communities and consumers. We all know this. What’s critical—with so much opportunity for online promotion—is to make strategic decisions with your digital efforts Read More
By Lisa D. Ellis Relationships are the focus of attention at Geisinger Health System—and not just with patients, but also with its practitioners and specialists. In fact, aligning with providers, as well as with all of the internal service lines, is a key part of the organization’s strategy, enabling everyone to work collaboratively within the Read More
Spectrum Health Medical Group (SHMG) has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years, and so have its onboarding and communication efforts, which are essential to helping new providers acclimate to the large, multidisciplinary system. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Spectrum Health is the second largest health care provider in the state, offering inpatient and Read More
Spectrum Health Medical Group (SHMG) has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years, and so has its onboarding and communication efforts, which are essential to helping new providers acclimate to the large, multi-disciplinary system. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Spectrum Health is the second largest health care provider in the state, offering inpatient and Read More
While many hospitals grapple with how best to use their social media efforts, Advocate Health Care in Illinois leads by example. This faith-based health delivery system has developed a comprehensive social media strategy that supports its broader communications goals on multiple levels. As the largest health system in Illinois, and one of the top five Read More