Archive: August 1997

Getting hospital communicators to "listen" for strategic marketing ideas can be somewhat unsettling for a group so accustomed to "talking" and directing the process, according to Nancy Wilson, regional administrative director of marketing and communications… Continued

Disturbed by her limited knowledge of childhood depression, a condition that affects six million children, Susan Dubuque, whose son is clinically depressed, pooled the expertise of her fellow healthcare PR/marketing contacts and started what she… Continued

The Web can be an exciting new medium for charitable causes as long as the goals are "realistic", according to Jeff Hallett, chairman of NMP, Inc. who has launched a few online fundraising campaigns. Among… Continued

For Web-savvy hospital marketing departments, online fundraising holds extraordinary potential for new donors. Admittedly, many of the kinks of doing business online need to be worked out, especially where consumer comfort levels and security issues… Continued

Prescription drug broadcast ads have been liberated from strict FDA advertising restrictions on "brand only" messages, which could only mention product brands – no indications. In response to growing requests from Rx manufacturers and some… Continued

Carving out a "competitive personality" for healthcare organizations is often the decisionmaker or breaker for consumers who are looking for compelling reasons to choose (or pass up) your particular hospital, network or health plan. And… Continued

August 25-26 Symposium on Integrated Healthcare; Integrated Healthcare Report and the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine. Aspen. 909/336-1586. September 7-10 Congress on Health Outcomes & Accountability; The Zitter Group. Washington, D.C. 800/270-8440. September… Continued

Who: Anthem, Inc. (Indianapolis) merged with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Connecticut (North Haven, Conn.) When: Aug. 1 Total PR/Marketers: 71 (50-Anthem; 21-BCBSConn.) Effect on PR/Marketing: The most obvious effect is the name change… Continued

As far as healthcare crisis communications goes, the Columbia/HCA fiasco has provided healthcare communicators a brilliant and constantly unfolding case study in how not to handle a crisis involving a host of healthcare fraud charges.… Continued

I was lucky. The first time I was exposed to an actual SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis in action was for and with a Fortune 100 client as a full-fledged member of the integrated marketing communications (IMC)… Continued