Fighting a 100-year city hospital perception, Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital of Parkersburg, W.V., launched an aggressive, integrated branding program last year to improve its image.
This effort was selected as the winning campaign for best marketing.
The hospital, which changed its status from a city-owned facility to a not-for-profit, focused on winning share of mind as a community health leader to win doctor and patient allegiance.
The plan overcame a "resistance to change" attitude among some of the senior management, who weren't convinced that an integrated branding strategy could deliver quantifiable results, says Greg Smith, Camden-Clark's director of marketing and public affairs.
The hospital used several techniques to achieve "buy in," including making a presentation to the CEO.
But, the effort proved the skeptics wrong by producing results that continue to impact the bottom line:
- By the second quarter of 1997, hospital patient census surged 9.5% and increased 2.9% by the fourth quarter. Because of the increased volume, the marketing department was moved out of the main hospital to an off-site facility.
- Applications for physicians increased 300%; and
- The hospital's total net revenue jumped 8.3% from 1996, more than 44 times the initial marketing investment.
Community Health Messages
Using regional radio, print and TV, Camden-Clark secured lengthy "Community Health" programming that featured its physicians, healthcare professionals and representatives.
The media programs positioned the hospital as a regional health authority, promoting a wide range of healthcare topics, community events and health partnerships. The formats covered a full media gambit, including:
- A live, one-hour call in television program on community-specific healthcare topics that reached 18,000 viewers;
- "Ask A Doc" newspaper column that responded to community questions on healthcare issues. The Q & A was featured on the front page of the local paper, three to four times a week; and
- An exclusive one-year contract for a daily front page advertising newspaper presence, promoting different physicians, programs and services.
Media Relations
The branding effort also included media training for all of the hospital's healthcare professionals. A media relations representative offered 24-hour support for news requests.
For instance, during the Burger King E-Coli scare last year, the hospital's dietitian and microbiologist were available for interviews about cooking meat properly and explaining the nature of E-Coli.
These initiatives helped Camden-Clark emerge as the region's hospital of choice according to patient satisfaction surveys. (Contacts: Camden-Clark, Greg Smith, 304/424-2412)