Hospital Branding

Separated by a mere three letters, there's a world of difference between the words "brand" and "branding."  Too often, they are used interchangeably and interpreted in many different ways.  Common terms associated with both words include "naming," "identity," "tagline," "packaging," "advertising," and so forth, mainly centered around tactical elements. In our experience working with organizations in the service sector, the difference between the two ideas comes down to this:  A brand is a destination, where you want to end up, while branding is the journey or the roadmap to get you there. There are other important differences between the two terms, some dealing with dollars and others that just make sense. A brand is a goal; branding is a strategy. From the breakthrough book, "Positioning - The battle for your mind," (Trout and Ries), establishing a market position is a goal, it's where yo...

If you've attended a marketing or branding conference, you'll agree there are dozens of definitions of the term "branding."  From the creation of an identity to the production of a commercial, the word certainly gets a lot of use (and misuse) and is attached to many meanings.  I recently attended Brand ManageCamp, a global gathering on branding where many well-known experts and authors shared their wisdom.  David Aaker, considered to be today’s branding guru by many and author of the recent “Aaker on Branding,” spoke and his insights helped me round out the right definition of the term. I will admit, however, it’s tough to sum up "branding" in a single statement, so here are the “5 E’s of Branding," to put on your mental shelf next to the “4 P’s of Marketing.”   1.   Essence As Aaker explains, the brand essence is the first step in determining your brand strategy and reflects "the higher purpose of your brand and the reason it exis...

Great brands make a promise to consumers and deliver real value.  They go beyond "feature/benefits" and improve the way we feel, perform, and enjoy life.  Think about your favorite brands and the messages they communicate; most likely one or more of these lofty platforms are covered. A recent consumer study was conducted to peel back benefits and uncover what really drives consumers to certain brands.  These are called "heartbeat" brand attributes because they, well, make hearts beat with excitement, passion, and hope. In the 2014 "Heartbeat Brand" survey, conducted by Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy, consumers (N=225) were asked, "How important are the following characteristics of a heartbeat brand?"  The top three that emerged as "very important/important" were: Reflects a personal passion           69% Improves health and well-being    66 Expands my knowledge               ...

In a quest to discover which attributes consumers attach to their favorite brands, Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy recently conducted a survey among 200 U.S households.  The findings, soon to be published in an e-Book, "Heartbeat Brands and What Makes Them Tick," cover a variety of topics and will shed many insights on brand strategies. As a sneak peak, one key finding of the study reinforces what Ford and Zenith understood decades ago:  "Quality is Job 1" and "Quality goes in before the name goes on."  Back in the day, these famous brands owned the "Q" word and it did wonders for their sales and lasted a generation in advertising life years (about 10:1 in human years).  Other automobile and television manufacturers staked out different brand claims and let Ford and Zenith run with the quality strategy. Hospitals also use the Q word in their branding and marketing strategies, too freely and frighteningly often. One problem with...

The next wave of digital marketing requires brand builders to either SWIM or sink. Digital marketing is no longer the after-thought in the marketing plan.   In fact, it should be front and center in your discussions about the most effective ways to market your organization's products and services.   While traditional, off-line communications still has its place in terms of promoting a brand message and satisfying goals related to awareness and preference, digital marketing is the “go to” for achieving behavioral metrics and creating customer transactions. At a recent healthcare strategy conference, savvy marketing guy Chris Bevolo of Interval, presented on the topic of digital marketing.   In his presentation, Chris stressed that digital marketing strategies must be considered first, and in this order: search, web, and mobile.   Marketers need to think through how consumers will search their brand, where it will take them, and how they are search...

Branding is a strategy designed to establish a unique (brand) position for a product or service in the minds of your customers.  Tactical elements for implementing this strategy include identity development, design architecture, advertising, sales promotion, operational enhancements, signage, and the list goes on. There, I've said it.  Had to get that out of my system after reading so many new blogs and articles about branding in the last few weeks.  While I'm glad to see a resurgence in the term, there are still too many definitions and interpretations of what branding means.  But this is to be expected as the dynamics and tools of the marketing communications field are fast-changing, especially in hospital branding. The promotional component of the brand strategy has also changed.  Brand communications, on the heels of an explosive third dimension based on Internet usage,  is now entering the Fourth Dimension. Here's how the evolution has unfol...

We recently attended an American Marketing Association brand leadership breakfast, featuring  Rodrigo Sierra , CMO & SVP of the American Medical Association. In addition to providing insights on leading his organization in a challenging marketplace, he discussed the evolution of the organization’s brand – brands they have shed, and how they want their brand to be perceived in the future. When a marketer gives a presentation there should be a dose of cleverness. When describing brand types they have moved away from, he did not disappoint, and offered: “Brandpa” – a grand old brand – tired and in need of some renewed vigor. “Brandelabra” – a multi-pronged brand strategy where each remains siloed, shines equally, but tends to fizzle out over time. We couldn't stop ourselves from expanding on his examples and thinking what we’d call many of the brands we see as we look at healthcare systems and associations.  Some common brand strategies th...

Maybe it's the Olympics, or maybe it's that time of year when new campaigns are being launched and will be judged as precisely as ice dancing.  In either event, the topic of measuring brand success is near and dear to every marketer and the discussion of metrics should be at the starting gate rather than the finish line .  After all, that's why we go through the discipline of establishing quantifiable goals, developing targeted strategies, and generating tactics to achieve desired actions. Remember DAGMAR?  For those who don't, it was an old advertising agency acronym for "Defining Advertising Goals Measuring Advertising Results."   As a student, I remember thinking DAGMAR was some scowling scholar who was always peering over my shoulder reminding me that this was a business of results, not only big creative ideas. Results...oh how times have changed.  Decades ago, marketers would celebrate in the hallways when bi-annual market research showed percentage...

Happy New Year!  As is always the case in hospital branding, 2014 is sure to be filled with many adventures and marketing challenges.  But, based on new studies about social trends, best-selling lifestyle books, and well-read business publications, it will also be a year with less.    Perhaps in contrast to the past few years, where the focus has been on more - technology, choices, services, information, and so on - the arrow is pointing toward "less" in 2014 as consumers attempt to simplify and streamline their lives. Here are a few key areas of trending in 2014 where the focus will be on less, but will offer more opportunities for healthcare marketers. Immersive Experiences - The new JWT study identifies this topic as its number one trend.   Brands will envelope us with a full and immersive experience like hot brand Sonos does with its wireless speaker systems.  On a recent trip to Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, PA, I took a tour of th...