Advertising
Banning hospital advertising – it was only a matter of time.
Over the past year we’ve pondered periodically in our podcast why we haven’t heard a call for a ban on hospital advertising, given the national debate on healthcare reform. Well we finally have our first salvo.
According to an article in the Burlington Free Press on Monday, Vermont state representative Steve Maier is proposing legislation to ban hospitals from spending money on advertising or marketing in the state. Here’s a quote from the article:
“‘It’s not producing health care,’ Maier said of the money spent on advertising.”
Given the focus on healthcare costs at a national level, it’s not surprising a politician has latched onto the relatively easy mark of hospital advertising. (It is surprising that it took this long). Let’s put aside the argument surrounding advertising that supports public health issues such as obesity, smoking or wellness for a moment. There are at least three reasons I can think of why such a proposal doesn’t make sense. Read the rest of this entry »
New campaign for donor designation hits airwaves
A new television spot featuring a simple – but important – decision we all must make is now airing during the Olympics. The ad features one man’s decision to check “yes” to donor designation while renewing his driver’s license, while showing the positive impact that decision has on everyone around him. The television spot is part of a new campaign developed by Interval with LifeSource, the organ procurement organization for Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and western Wisconsin.
Warning: not all direct-to-consumer advertisers will experience the same results.
Often, those in hospitals and health systems who are looking for a quick fix to a business challenge such as outmigration or dropping market share will call for increased consumer advertising, arguing in part by pointing toward how pharmaceutical companies have gained success over the past decade advertising direct to consumers. The prevailing wisdom has been that given the mass amounts of money spent on this strategy ($4.7 billion in 2008, according to TNS Media Intelligence) and the ongoing complaints of physicians dealing with this phenomenon, drug companies must have been wildly successful with this tactic. But a study cited in this week’s BusinessWeek article titled “Ask Your Doctor If This Ad Is Right for You” throws some cold water on the notion that direct-to-consumer advertising has been successful for drug companies. Read the rest of this entry »
The demise of old marketing: “I’m not dead yet!”
It’s a classic scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail: A character played by John Cleese answers the call of “Bring out yer dead!” by trying to deposit his still-alive elderly ward (“I’m not dead yet – I feel happy!”) with the traveling undertaker. In some ways, I get the same feeling from many new media advocates who would prefer traditional mass advertising be dead and buried. Read the rest of this entry »
