When an advertising campaign first asked Wichita, Kan., consumers: "Would you expect to find today's most advanced cancer care at Via Christi?" the hospital knew the answer
would be a resounding "No." In spite of being the headquarters for the National Cancer Institute's only community clinical oncology program in Kansas, Via Christi's Cancer Center
had a serious identity problem. By the end of the six-week campaign last year consumers became aware that they didn't have to travel outside of Wichita to receive cutting-edge
cancer care. Patient volume increased and requests for information surged.
To carve out the leadership position it wanted to establish for the cancer center, Via Christi took a marketing gamble that required the hospital to take a slight departure
from its existing brand focus.
The cancer center is one of four lines the hospital is marketing. Three of its lines are supported by the umbrella theme "It's Better to Know," while the cancer center tagline
is "Expect the Best." While branding experts often recommend using a singular theme to brand all of a hospital's services, cancer services require a different promotional
approach, says Leslie Chaffin, account executive for Associated Advertising Agency (AAA), which launched the campaign. "'It's Better to Know' didn't work for the cancer center
because it seemed too ominous."
In addition to stepping outside of its branding box, Via Christi also had to reach a lot deeper into its wallet to fund the campaign, spending nearly double the original
budget. Right before the campaign was set to launch last spring, media costs shot up because of an influx of last-minute dotcom and retail advertisers. To maintain the level of
television exposure it wanted, the budget soared to $425,000 from $225,000.
The campaign also used print, radio and outdoor.
Internally, the campaign increased employee morale by using hospital staff in the advertisements. It also ran a contest that challenged employees to identify the number of
employees in the commercials.
Getting Technical
The inherent challenge of marketing cancer services is escaping the death sentence connotation of cancer. Via Christi's advertising addressed this issue by highlighting the
latest advancements in cancer care available at the cancer center, from bone marrow and stem cell transplants to the latest inpatient/outpatient chemotherapy.
The campaign also highlighted the hospital's spiritually centered care by showing various patient scenarios involving physicians, nurses and a nun.
The marketing copy broached complex medical concepts like clinical trials, stereotactic radiosurgery and 3-D conformal therapy that aren't easily explained to a lay audience of
consumers. Via Christi physicians were passionate about using medical jargon to convey the level of cutting-edge services available at the center, says Chaffin.
The technical focus was where the agency and hospital had to make difficult compromises. "We had to strike a balance of communicating the center's high-tech services and high-
touch care," says Chaffin.
Concessions were made on both ends. Physicians agreed to relax their technical demands while the agency helped to make the medical terms more consumer-friendly.
The advertising copy, for instance, explained the importance of clinical trials in proving the effectiveness of new cancer research. And although some of the cancer treatments
promoted in the copy were unfamiliar, like stereotactic radiosurgery and high-dose rate brachy-therapy, the rationale was to instill confidence in the center's ability to take
care of all forms of cancer. "We wanted the campaign to have a trickle-down effect that helped consumers come to the conclusion that if Via Christi could treat the less known
forms of cancer they could definitely treat the more common non-life threatening forms of cancer," says Chaffin.
The compromises paid off. The campaign achieved a dual purpose, says Dan Moratto, Via Christi's marketing manager. It was well received by physicians -- who developed a greater
respect for the advertising process -- and positioned the cancer center as a leading provider of cancer care.
(AAA, Leslie Chaffin, 316/683-4691; Via Christi, Dan Moratto, 316/268-6097)
Outreach Fills Advertising Void
The technical tone of the campaign left informational gaps that needed to be filled in with targeted educational efforts. While the advertising campaign was under way, Via
Christi cranked up its cancer outreach with:
- a mobile mammography van that provided community-based cancer screenings;
- an art project that allows patients to select the artwork to be hung in their room while they're in the hospital; and
- the Buddy Check program, in partnership with a local television station, encourages friends, families and co-workers to remind loved ones to perform a breast exam on the 10th
of every month. Since its inception in 1998, the program has distributed more than 5,000 information packets.
Associated Advertising Agency
Headquarters: Wichita, Kan.
Employees: 36
Focus: advertising, PR, strategic management
Healthcare Clients: Galichia Medical Group, Preferred Health Systems
Web Site: http://www.associatedadv.com