Hospital Branding

Just when you thought it was safe to swallow the concept of "operationalizing" your brand, here's another one to chew on - "Organizationalizing" your brand.  A few letters apart, but the two concepts offer a world of difference to your patients and other customer groups. Before giving these concepts their just desserts (does this eating theme keeping going on?), let's explore the five steps of brand-building; 1) Developmental 2) Internal 3) Operational 4) Promotional 5) Organizational.   Step 1 is worthy of its own post and many articles and blog posts have been dedicated to the most effective ways to develop your brand strategy.  (If you'd like a refresher course, please let me know).  Step 2 is key to your brand's success.  Employees and other key stakeholders must not only be educated but inspired about their role in delivering on the brand promise.  Steps 3 and 4 are where most hospitals put the majority of their time and money.  From letterhead ...

J ust returned from the SHSMD 2009 conference in Orlando and delighted that - even in today's economy - over 700 hospital marketing professionals were in attendance.  Lots of good sessions and energy. I had the chance to speak on "Operationalizing Your Brand" with Susan Hoffman of Lehigh Valley Health Network.  It's a terrific story to share, but in a nutshell, we discussed the need to dig deep within your organization to uncover its true DNA (Differentiating Native Attributes), inspire employees, and have patience.  It takes at least two years for the brand to resonate in the market. Sounds simple, yet many hospital marketers aren't digging deep enough to uncover the DNA of their brand. Rather, they are settling for a strategy and  attributes that are either "me too" or "ho hum."  My favorite place to help clients look for their brand essence is in the history books of their organizations.  There's a reason every company, organization, pro...

  HealthLeaders Media recently published an article on appropriate hospital marketing and messaging tactics during a down economy.  The article appeared in the August 2009 issue of Health Leaders - Springboard and its client, Lehigh Valley Health Network, were featured - click  here  to read - please add your comments on the blog and share your perspective.

On July 23, Springboard hosted an in depth look at The Service Line Manager as Brand Manager during its latest Brand 2.0 Webinar. The healthcare service line manager brings top-down and bottom-up understanding of how a service works – clinically and operationally – and where it fits in the organization’s “big picture.” This latest Webinar offers insights into how some of today’s most successful healthcare organizations are leveraging centers of excellence to take vertical brand management to new heights. It also discusses how economic pressures are putting some Service Line Managers’ jobs at risk – and at the same time, potentially jeopardizing the brand. We also hear from one organization that has successfully stayed the course with their Service Line Management structure, with excellent brand-focused results. Donna Arbogast from Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy hosted the Webinar. Panelists included: Theodore Michalke Managing Partner, NeuStrategy, Chicago, IL Former Direc...

While driving through a metro area recently, that music popped into my head.  You know, the theme that introduced "The Dating Game," the landmark game show of the 60's, 70's, and 80's. A bachelorette would question three bachelors, who were hidden from her view and at the end, choose one to go out with on a date paid for by the show.  (Sound familiar?  Come to think about it, maybe game shows were the original reality TV that took one episode instead of dragging us through 13 weeks.) Back to my road trip and why that musical theme popped into mind.  On three consecutive billboards (and yes, I do look at them), there were hospital ad messages.  In a competitive market this otherwise would not strike me as odd, but it was the content that nearly caused me off the road. The first billboard claimed "Rated #1 for heart surgery."  The second featured a well-known magazine masthead and cited "One of the country's best in neurosciences."  The third...

Lots of terrific feedback and post-posting comments about social networking from the last blog entry ("Is your social networking strategy a portal or a porta-potty").  In fact, several requests for a follow-up on how hospitals can differentiate their social networking strategies, much like they do their brands. Raises a very interesting point.  Your social networking strategy using tactics such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and others, should stay the course of your brand strategy and become yet another demonstration of your brand promise in the marketplace.  Not veer off, exit, or take a sudden turn from your brand pathway. At the time of this writing, as researched by Ed Bennett (ebennett.org) , 277 hospitals are involved in social networking.  Here's a breakdown of how many are using what:     135 YouTube Channels 101 Facebook pages 201 Twitter Accounts 25 Blogs The list is growing fast and, predictably, so is the "vanilla flavor" (aka undifferentiated) of m...

Someone you follow on Twitter just posted this important message -  "I'm going to the gym, it's going to feel great!"  On Facebook, Friend 214 placed an important quote from President 16 on your wall.  What did you ever do without social networks? With millions of users on networks such as Facebook and Twitter - nearly 18 million users on Twitter alone (representing over 10% of internet users per eMarketer, April 2009), social networking has turned into an explosive personal and professional marketing tool.  When used properly, these networks have an amazing impact on search engine optimization, brand awareness, and potential sales generation.  From a personal standpoint, it is a great way to network with friends and family - and with the fastest growth segment on Facebook becoming Baby Boomers, it's also replacing greeting cards and party invitations!  The key issue is this:  Is your social network a portal:  providing valuable new ideas and links to your user ba...