Hospital Branding: What’s Your Brand Named?

By Rob Rosenberg -
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 that we see include:
“Scatterbrand” – one that’s all over the place, where each execution or message is seemingly unrelated to the other.
“Brandwagon” – the “me too” brand that looks, sounds and feels like their competition. 
“Interchangeabrand” – a message that is completely believable, but not unique to their organization.
“Sans-a-Brand” – all window dressing, with no strategy to hold it up.
The organization that introduced us to “Brandpa” and “Brandelabra” ended up favoring a brand type that met several criteria:
  • Unique
  • Relevant
  • Forward-thinking
  • Flexible
  • Inclusive
Their winning brand type was:
“Brandwidth” – the maximum amount of potential for your brand – with everyone and everything supporting your brand promise and singing the same tune.
As you evaluate your brand, is it in need of an update (“brandpa”)? Does it lack a unique brand story (“interchangeabrand”)? Or, is yours on-track and poised for the future (“brandwidth”)?

Your turn, what brands would you add to the list?
Mike Chapman is Vice President / Account Director at Springboard Brand and Creative Strategy, a brand strategy and communications firm located in suburban Chicago. For more information on Springboard or to discuss this and other ideas, please contact Mike at 847.398.4920 or mike@springboardbrand.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Ah-ha" versus "Uh-huh." You might be surprised at the moment of truth.

By Rob Rosenberg -
Image
We've heard it before. "I was presenting the strategy to my leadership team and suddenly they had the "ah-ha" moment and got what I was saying." Or, "finally had that "ah-ha" moment and came up with a big creative idea!" Call it what you will - "ah-ha" moments, "connecting the dots," or "putting the pieces together," they all imply a breakthrough in thinking or understanding. They can be the best of times and strike when you least expect them (and that's why we keep pens and paper on the nightstand). Or they can be the worst of times, and those are the ones you need to watch out for. For example, you're presenting a brand strategy or ad campaign to your hospital's CEO. A good portion of your discussion is based on the market situation, competitive insights, brand landscape, communications objectives, and other great information. Then, the moment of truth. You transition from the comfort of fac
Read more

Hospital Branding: New Insights on Healthcare Websites

By Rob Rosenberg -
Image
Your website is the hub of your digital marketing strategy.  It is the place where patients, members and influencers want to learn more about your organization.  While many medical product and service companies have an online presence, they don’t think of search engine optimization (SEO) while building it or even after the site’s been developed to maintain it.  A website can look great, but if it’s not built for SEO, no one will be able to find you. Follow these 5 important factors to make your website more successful, including design and development, and what to do once the website is live. Simple is better, especially for healthcare brands. Before you get started with a new website, first define your goals. What do you want your visitors to see and what do you want them to do? This all contributes to the design of your new site.  Not everything can stand out.  Highlight a few things that sets you apart from your competitors and make those stand out on your homepage.  If
Read more

Hospital Marketing and Healthcare Branding - Ten Lessons from 15 Years

By Rob Rosenberg -
Image
I just had a birthday!  My company did, that is.  Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy recently turned 15 and since only one third of new businesses last past their first decade, I feel pretty good about this accomplishment.  As I reflect over the past decade and a half, there are certain thoughts and ideas that surfaced that I wanted to share.   I hope some will educate, inspire, amuse, or just be a head nod to those who read them. The power of a big idea still surges.  From the “Mad Men” era until today, and I’m certain into the future, the advertising business still thrives on big ideas.  Sure, there are all sorts of new technologies to communicate and ways to “hide” behind production value, but strip it all away and – if there’s not a big idea that touches the heart and soul of your customer – you have nothing.  You know you have one when, years later, people still recall pieces of a campaign.  I’m proud to say there have been a few of those over the years. Get with
Read more