When I say refreshing drink, you think cancer treatment.
Where do I begin with the recent article in Ad Age titled “Health-Care Reform Stokes Spending by Top Hospitals, Clinics”? The story starts by using an example of a live-tweeted surgery to state: “Welcome to the new front in medical marketing: hospitals jockeying to position themselves for growth amid a perfect storm of aging baby boomers and a health-care-reform bill that will result in millions more insured patients down the road.”
There’s the frustrating: The “new front”? Hospitals have been jockeying to position themselves for about two decades now. It seems that whenever a mainstream media source “discovers” hospital marketing, then it must be a new phenomenon. It’s not. (Listen to our podcast on the NPR story a few weeks back on hospital marketing, as the moderator nearly gasps “hospitals compete?!?”).
There’s the obvious: live-tweeting and increased social media use by hospitals have been around for a couple of years now. “Emotional print campaigns” and “reputation ads” focusing on awards and rankings have been around for a lot longer. Which means these strategies can’t possibly stem from healthcare reform. And do we really think that the millions of new people who come onto the insurance doles will have the freedom to travel the country to choose care and still stay “in-network?” (Actually this raises a lot of interesting questions about whether there will be “networks” anymore, or what the true financial opportunity for domestic medical tourism is, but I’m on a roll here.)
There’s the hairpullers: Ned Russell, managing director of Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness states: “They (medical centers) need to attract talent and get funding. How do they do that? By increasing their patient base. How do they lure patients? (wait for it) Their advertising. Doesn’t seem to matter these days how far away a patient is.” Shocking that an ad agency exec would tout advertising to build brand and increase volumes. The Russell quote is immediately followed by this: “Indeed, 25% of the patients at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., come from 500 miles away or more.” I believe it’s pretty well established that the Mayo Clinic has attracted patients from around the country and the world for decades, and over that time THEY NEVER ADVERTISED. (I suppose I don’t need to repeat that great hospital brands are built by delivering great care and experiences, right? Right?)
And there’s the hilarious: this gem from Mike Guarini, president of Ryan TrueHealth: “I say ‘refreshing soda,’ you think Coca-Cola…I say ‘cancer treatment,’ you think Sloan-Kettering.” There are oh so many ways to go with this one. Suffice it to say I believe in branding, I believe in positioning, I believe in advertising, but healthcare is not a soft drink (or, see “Joe Public Doesn’t Care About Your Hospital.”)
OK, so I’m sure this all sounds catty. There is some good stuff in here. Ed Bennett once again provides some level-headed perspective about social media for hospitals: “I tell hospitals ‘Don’t get into social media because you think you’re going to get more patients. Do it because you’re helping be responsible to people reaching out looking for answers.”
Overall though, this piece will not help hospital marketers who struggle everyday with a lack of internal sophistication when it comes to their trade. I fear this will serve as fodder for chief surgeons, service line directors and other executives, who will point to a leading marketing and advertising pub and say, “See? We’re XYZ Medical Center, and WE need to advertise more to build a national reputation and compete with Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins.” Guess that’s good for ad agencies, and for the one or two dozen leading providers that might actually have a shot at a national reputation. But not good for the 97% of the other organizations who struggle enough with building brands and increasing volumes in their own markets.
Thus end’th the rant. What do you think? I’m I being too critical here? What did you think of the article?
Chris,
We’re dealing with a lot of baggage and bias in the “hospital marketing” world, aren’t we? Here’s a crazy line of thinking to stir discussion among agencies.
Hospitals are like malls, right? The success of a mall is dependent on two primary factors: location and having the right stores.
Malls don’t really need to advertise. What they really need are in-demand stores that attract attention and shoppers. Commodity stores equal commodity malls.
Hospitals are no different. What patients really want are great doctors and medical services (i.e. cancer care or OB or cosmetic surgery, etc.). Services that their friends and family (and doctor) insist are great.
The hospital marketing department has too many plates spinning. They’re dealing with media stories, planning and executing events, launching new programs, keeping the machine called marketing functioning. They really have no time, unless they like to lose sleep, to be experts on how to grow specific service lines.
I think a great opportunity exists today for outside experts, like yourself, to help marketers (or administrators) do their job better. Instead of being an order-taker (“I’ll have the #3 ad combo with some social media on the side”), be a deal maker (“We have a marketing system that will grow your market share in orthopedics by 20% in 18 months”). Bring new platforms and technologies to the table that are market-tested and ready for implementation. Then charge a base subscription for use of the platform and a bonus for hitting certain measurable marks.
You and I both know that word about a great medical service line quickly spreads through a community. A system for capturing and managing the relationships related to a strategic service line is what “new” marketing is all about. The more quality service lines a hospital has, the more attention and referrals it will get, and the more its “brand” will be enhanced. (To a point, of course.)
The Mac, iPod, iPhone, etc. made Apple “Apple”. Toy Story, Nemo, Cars, etc. made Pixar “Pixar”. OB services made Northside Hospital in Atlanta “Northside”. Great products/services make great brands. Not the other way around, right?
You guys have the talent, creativity and multi-hospital experience to take over some of the jobs hospital marketers need done (at the service line level), but they don’t have the time to do well.
The beautiful thing here is that you should encourage these clueless “experts” to keep propping up the old rules, while you guys change the game and put them out of business!
How can Interval leverage its expertise and mastery of all tools in the marketing toolbox to move an important meter (patient volume, patient satisfaction, etc.) for hospitals? Can Interval partner with service line management vendors to develop the marketing platform to complement their operational expertise (i.e. let them sell the hospitals with you)?
Of course, like the rise and fall of malls, hospitals need to realize that great “stores” can thrive anywhere in the community. But if Interval’s business is to grow medical service lines through marketing, instead of selling marketing services TO hospitals, you wouldn’t be screwed as competition and new retail models emerge beyond hospitals – those companies would need marketing expertise too – your marketing expertise.
I have NO clue if any of that makes sense. I’ll re-read what I wrote in a week and see.