As a healthcare marketer for over 20 years, I believe docs are our most challenging target. But I love a good challenge. So when our client, Oakland County Medical Society, needed a new campaign to recruit docs, we gleefully obliged.
The key marketing problem: OCMS offers lots of good stuff…but docs are way too swamped to read about all of it.
So what did we do? Condensed the facts down to a simple message appealing to the 2 things that matter most to docs: Time and Money. We let them know they can get “Experts on Call”, a waiting room full of valuable professionals, for free with membership. Put it on a quick-read microsite. Developed banner ads and eblasts zeroeing in on key benefits each expert provides. In a fun way.
The goal: replace blah blah content with conceptual messaging that emotionally connects with doc desires.
The result: lotsa clickthroughs thusfar, only a couple weeks in!
Still not convinced non-traditional media is enough to solve all of your advertising woes? There may be a solution.
Non-traditional forms of advertising are great in terms of finding unique ways to show off a product or brand, but are they as effective if the same traditional mediums are being used to display it? I would think not.
Imagine the benefits of using a non-traditional advertisement and implementing it with social media. Combining the most innovative and cutting edge techniques of the media world would provide the ability to capture the audience’s interest with a unique idea while serving it in a relaxed, open environment. This also gives a viewer access to sharing capabilities which would conveniently be at the their fingertips.
The clip below provides us with a great example of a non-traditional social media advertisement.
Notice how they created an ad unlike others and placed it in blog. Like I said, innovative. How do you feel about the possibilities involved in this new advertising combo?
Aging gets under my skin. Already, at just over 40, my knees creak, my hands get stiff, and I have glimpses of how my body will betray me. Or maybe I have betrayed it. In any case, I cannot imagine how painful it would be to experience the kind of physical betrayal that comes with Parkinsons Disease. One of my best friend’s dad had it. It was painful for her to watch Parkinsons steal him bit by bit away from her. Most of us take for granted that if we want something like a pen, we reach for it and get it. We can’t understand a degenerative disease that makes simple tasks like this so extremely difficult, one that interrupts the circuits between our brains and our bodies. This awareness campaign for the Parkinsons Society of Canada does an excellent job of visualizing for us what happens when a body betrays it’s owner with this disease.
Healthcare. One of Brogan & Partners specialties and what brought me to the internship program. Being an intern at B&P, I was thrown into everyday life right away, which helped me quickly realize what it meant to be in the “account world.” I certainly can say I’ve had real world experience now. Everyday life here is much more exciting than the hit TV show, “The Office.”
As the account management intern, I learned a lot about the wonderful world of advertising. And now that my internship is wrapping up, I thought it might be helpful to share some insights to those that may come next.
Top 5 Insights from a B&P Account Intern:
1. Photo shoots are not all glamour. It may seem exciting and glamorous (it is very cool), but let me just tell you it is a LOT of work and a LONG day. (Especially when it’s an 8 hour shoot at 3 different locations and 90 degrees out!)
2. Communication is key. Learning the way to interact with clients based on their various personalities is important to sustaining a good relationship. It also helps in making sure everything goes smoothly and everyone is happy!
3. Practice makes perfect. Or close to it. The first time I tried binding I messed up. And then I just got better. I can now proudly say I’m the fastest binder in town (or at least at B&P). But this along with everything else I learned all began to come with ease after a bit of practice.
4. Smile often. Sitting by the back door to greet everyone in the morning is underrated. How nice it is to have a steady flow of smiling faces bright and early! It makes the morning much more enjoyable…and brings some joy to my co-workers.
5. New Business is your best friend. When I was first asked to start developing a new business database, I felt a bit out of my element. But after doing a ton of research, finding good new biz opportunities, and helping create the new biz letters, I realized how important the task was. I can’t even tell you how awesome it was when one of the letters I sent helped result in a NEW CLIENT!
Leaving this internship, I’ll take with me a whole set of new skills/experiences, a greater interest in healthcare marketing, and a ton of memories. Will my next job be as challenging and rewarding? Hopefully! Will I enjoy myself as much with the people and environment? Fat chance.
Are you an intern or looking for an internship? What other insights can you share?
Thinking about your target audience is so essential when you are picking a non-traditional medium to use. Say you are a heavily female-based TV show, like Desperate Housewives or the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and viewership is down. Your mission is to try and boost the ratings. Think about what those females (who would be watching the show) are doing: getting their hair done, getting manicures and pedicures, just pampering themselves in general (when they find the time). Why not take advantage of the advertising opportunities in salons. Nail files give you just enough room to put an image and a teaser message to get those women interested. And, what woman wouldn’t want one? Using non-traditional just for the sake of it will not lead to a return in any form, it needs to be relevant and make a connection with the target in order to garner good results and maybe, in this case, fix a nail.
Girl power. As Americans, we’re all about empowering girls. But it wasn’t that long ago, women couldn’t vote, get equal pay for equal work or break through the glass ceiling in our country. In developing countries, gender discrimination and gender disenfranchisement are rampant. Women don’t have a voice, the means, the education or the power to impact their destiny as easily as we have in America. The Nike Foundation along with some other folks are trying to change that with the girl effect. This is a great effort and a powerful video about how with the right opportunities, young girls in developing countries can make a difference and ultimately save our world. Spread the girl power by becoming a facebook fan of the girl effect. Or better yet, donate. Do you think girls have the power to change the world? I do.
My fiancé and I recently started re-drywalling our house. While I trust that he can tear down walls, and lift heavy things, I didn’t feel as confident about his mudding, taping, and actual installation skills. After a long debate he admitted that someone trained and seasoned would be better at doing the job. While it hurt his ego a little bit … the end result spoke for itself.
It’s funny how much the story relates to the lives of healthcare marketers across the world. Many of you deal with a similar issue day-to-day with your internal audiences. Too many of them think they can do your job. I’m sure many of you have received a call from a Dr. saying he didn’t like your recent marketing campaign. And this pretty much sums up the feelings on that ….
So, how do you prove to them that you are the expert and that they can allow you to do what you do best?
Here are a few ways that may help guide you:
Be confident. This is your turf. You have been doing this for x amount of years. You went to school for this. You’ve launched x amount of campaigns that have resulted in a great ROI. Think of it this way, would you trust a doctor that sounded like he was second-guessing his capabilities?
Build a sound strategy. We all know a campaign won’t work if you don’t have a smart, thought through strategy with specific outcomes stated. And remember, no one can argue the right strategy.
Get buy-in. Explain your strategy to those that matter and get their buy-in before you develop a campaign. Meet with them, gather their input and use it to help strengthen your position.
Remind them who the target audience is. Sometimes it’s hard for them to remember that they are not the target audience. It always helps to verbally tell them to take off your “Doctor hat,” and think like the target audience. Then have them ask themselves – does it connect with me, does it breakthrough to me, will it make me take action? After they do that exercise, they tend to get it.
Tout your successes. If a Doctor didn’t talk about her outcomes, how would anyone know she’s a leader in her field? Make sure you shout your positive results from the rooftop. Let them know when your marketing campaign successfully increased web traffic, brand awareness, calls to the call center, etc.
Do you have any more hints? I would love to hear what you have done to help establish yourself and your team as the marketing experts within your healthcare organization.
So how do you get people interested in “Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery?” Ask them to say it 5 times fast? As a healthcare marketer, this high tech procedure name stops me in my tracks. But for the normal Jane, not so much. I love assignments to promote newfangled high tech stuff because we get to be really creative. There are no molds.
Just like the name says, SILS means one incision. The benefit is no tummy scars. That’s something women want to hear about. So here’s how we told them for our client, University of Toledo Medical Center:
I have nothing against the old standbys of Cancer, Heart, ER, OB, etc…we’ve done mucho healthcare marketing for all of ‘em. Just like the challenge of getting over a high tech, gobbledygook hurdle with a clean, simple message. Got any of those to share with us?
Thundersticks. The word alone creates a pounding sensation in my head. But if you want to hit a large sports crowd with not only your brand name but also with sound similar to a herd of wild horses coming at you (personally, I’ve never heard wild horses coming at me but I did hear it in a western once, or was it City Slickers?), thundersticks might be right up your alley. According to Wikipedia, thundersticks were created in the Republic of Korea. They first gained popularity in the United States when used by fans of the Anaheim Angels during the 2002 World Series. Speaking of angels, what a non-traditional gift from heaven.
Watch the clip below, and tell me this wouldn’t be a great idea for Ball Park franks?
He loves me. He loves me not. The game that many of us played as young girls repeats itself for those in abusive relationships. As nurturers, women believe we can change people. We are usually more forgiving than men, more tolerant of faults. I am lucky that I have never been in an emotionally or physically abusive relationship. But I have a good friend who was once dragged by her husband’s car down a gravel road, and now is a speaker for the women’s shelter that changed her life. When you’re living with abuse, it’s hard to get out. It’s sometimes easier to forget, to justify, to hope that things will get better, or to endure the terror because change is just as terrifying. What I love about this commercial for My Sisters’ Place New York is that it uses a business environment to demonstrate the ludicrousness of abuse. An environment that is usually professional, respectful, and politically-correct. Whether he loves you, or loves you not, abuse is wrong no matter what the situation. What do you think of this spot?
There is a buzz about H1N1 everywhere right now, especially with the new vaccine going out. Most of us are hearing the message – wash your hands, cover your mouth, stay home if you are sick. I’m wondering if the current marketing is going to help minimize the spread of the flu. Does it break through? Does it emotionally connect? Are people listening? Changing their behaviors?
Now Microsoft is taking the messaging to a new level. They launched an interactive tool that helps you determine if you should see a doctor for your symptoms. The test uses the same calculations that doctors at Emory University use to determine if someone has the flu.
It’s amazing that a few clicks from your home computer, can help to determine if you have H1N1 (of course, it can’t replace seeing an actual doctor). But, it’s a unique way to help educate and inform the public on the virus and in turn influence some to steer clear of the doctor office, minimizing the spread of the flu. While medical care is necessary for some, it’s an innovative way to filter out the less severe cases.
I’m a blimp. Perhaps you think that I’m down on myself. I mean, I’m referring to myself as a “blimp”. But, in actuality, I’m quite pleased with how I look. Any attempts to tighten my waistline would create a negative impact on both how I maneuver and the attention that I receive. I actually feel quite light. You can see me from miles away and I have the best seat in the house at many of the nail-biting, barn-burning sport games of the season. I’ve been featured in many movies including Goldfinger, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and Gone in 60 seconds. I’ve also been in the company of some fascinating personalities – such as Ronald Reagan, JohnnyDepp, and Harrison Ford. You see, I’m not your ordinary blimp; I’m a Goodyear Blimp – one of three operating in the United States. And when you visualize me, you most likely picture my sleek, bullet-like, silver appearance with “Goodyear” printed in bright yellow on the side. Quite possibly, this is one of the best, historical examples of non-traditional advertising to build a brand. Think non-traditional advertising is a bunch of hot air? Lighten up.
