Brand Managers, Seamstresses, Security Guards

Quite a diverse group of individuals.  Yet, as we heard during Springboard's first Brand 2.0 Webinar, that's precisely who needs to work together in order for a brand launch to be successful. And it's the hospital's brand manager who needs to sew it together.

Brand management, the concept which will celebrate its' 78th birthday this May - after born in the hallways of P&G - is moving forward in healthcare organizations.  Hospitals in particular are looking for ways to bring together all aspects of strategic planning, marketing, communications, and patient experience together under the leadership of a brand manager.   That's quite an evolution from the mid-80's, when hospital PR departments simply hung out a sign that read "Marketing Department" while changing little else.

Brand managers fall within two categories;  organizational and departmental.  The organizational brand manager is responsible for how the brand strategy is implemented across all departments, from forms and uniforms to taglines and name tags.  This "horizontal" approach is most popular in healthcare organizations.  During the Brand 2.0 Webinar, Laura Harner, Marketing Manager at Lehigh Valley Health Network, shared with participants how she sat with uniform companies and the organization's security department to discuss the most practical ways to operationalize the brand identity on shirts and name badges!  Attention to detail is what brings the brand to life and impacts the many touch points that patients and visitors have with your organization.  Ms. Harner also shared how important it is for hospital brand managers to think through these applications and develop both a promotional and operational budget for your brand launch.

The departmental brand manager is responsible for a more "vertical" approach within a specific service area or facility.  Not only are touch points and other operational aspects involved, but also clinical ones.  These brand managers tend to work closely with physicians and administration to plot out pricing strategies, promotional mix, distribution channels, and even supply/demand analyses for a particular procedure.  These departmental brand managers are closer to their cousins in the packaged goods industry and typically come up through the administrative ranks than the marketing ladder.  

Regardless of how your hospital's brand management function is structured, or being structured, the lessons are many.  

• Inspire employees, don't just educate them.  They are the ones who represent the brand every day, every interaction.  All it takes is "one bad hair day" to sabotage the promise your brand is working so hard to fulfill.
• Budget for both operations and promotions - a brand works just as hard - or even harder - once the customer walks through the door.  That's where the experience comes into play to complement the expectations your promotional strategy has created.
• If it falls through the cracks, the brand manager better be there to catch it. Nobody else will care as much or care as much for the brand.
• Once the brand strategy is determined, use it as a guiding light for all decisions ranging from taglines, graphic standards, and entity marketing.  
• Brand management is as much about flexibility as it is about standards.  A brand is a promise and performance you give to all your customers and oftentimes it requires flexibility and fluid decision making.  

Thanks to the panel and participants who made Springboard's first Brand 2.0 Webinar a success.  Look for future postings about upcoming webinars this spring and summer.