Hospital Branding: Putting Character In Your Brand
From the Marlboro Man to Mr. Whipple, Tony the Tiger or Charlie Tuna, companies have always had a knack for "putting character" in their brands. These characters rank among the icons in the ad business and brought great success to their respective products. What made these characters successful was more than their memorable names and faces. They had unique traits that brought the product's point-of-difference to life. The Marlboro Man was masculine and cool, just like the men who smoked them (or so they thought). Tony the Tiger was "greeeaaattt," just like the taste of Frosted Flakes, and Mr. Whipple was tough on the outside but an ol' softy on the inside (just like the kind of toilet paper we like). The use of characters today, from reptiles to ducks, is alive and well - just ask the brand managers of Geico and Aflac. So what does this mean for healthcare brands? Should hospitals, for example, create a credible spokesdoctor or a talking thermom...