I also took the tone of the article to discount the need for SM staff at all, but maybe I over-read it. We’re having a heated debate on that topic internally, which will burst on the transom Monday when we release the next podcast.

Social media (sorry, folks) is still just one channel that a company can use to market and communicate to its customers. If it take a place on top of the marketing pyramid, you’ve got problems since social media cannot address every marketing challenge. That’s why marketing needs to be the umbrella and lead function with social media under that (and not under PR either).

JMR

I’m sooo with you on the “HR/Marketing” heads. Recently heard of a MN travel related biz that did away w/ their CMO and replaced with a HR/Marketing VP. My thoughts of that company went down several notches. Hugely disappointing for the industry.

Advertising does not replace or improve a brand – regardless of the company or industry; if it’s a product or a service. Advertising might be able to move a consumer’s mindset, but for only a limited amount of time. Soon enough, the consumer will wake up and smell the…aftershave.

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.

I did enjoy the segment on staying with branding. It hits close to home – I’ve been with companies that have hung on to identity elements too long, and others that change them like bedsheets. Sometimes we put too much thought the identity side of the branding system and not enough into the real world experience. That being said – it’s sure a lot of fun to brainstorm about the meaning and emotion behind a few words than to figure out how to keep appointments on schedule or debating the value of a covered walk from the parking garage; but they all impact the brand in ways that are difficult to quantify.

I sometimes wish more discretion on spending would occur with traditional forms of marketing (like billboards, radio, direct mail)…is 3% return really ROI? Or is it a huge waste of money?

For example in Illinois court it was argued that reporter’s shield law protects the identity of blog anonymous commenters because the commenters were both “persons” and “sources” within the meaning of the Illinois law. The court ruling found:

“The commentary section provides readers with a platform for discussing the case at their leisure. Bloggers feel the comfort, and sometimes too much comfort, of freely conversing with the protections normally provided through the expected anonymity of the Internet. A lack of these protections and/or anonymity might well have a chilling effect on future bloggers.”

So, in terms of anonymity, even some courts find that removing the ability to comment without identifying yourself can dynamically shift the very construct and intent of blogging – a dangerous, slippery slope that I believe we don’t want to go down.