With managed care squeezing national research dollars, there's no room for competition where cancer is concerned. Which is why three of the nation's top academic hospitals for cancer research - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham & Woman's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital - came together as Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare (DFPC) to form a collaborative branding initiative throughout the Boston region. The new campaign, which targets undiagnosed adults, promotes the collaboration as a leader in the marketplace for adult cancer.
While this kind of collaboration tends to be most common among cancer institutions and community hospitals, what makes this effort unique is the partnership among three leading research-based hospitals, according to Caroline McKenney, DFPC's director of marketing. "Cancer mobilizes because the [research] stakes are so high. Before we were competing for research dollars, now we're collaborating."
The advertising campaign, launched in May by Boston-based Cronin and Company, attempts to break through cancer's bleak "death sentence" connotations with messages that convey hope using cancer survivors who received care from the partnering hospitals.
The multi-media effort consisting of TV, radio, print and transit advertising will run through September at a budget of less than $1 million (McKenney would not disclose the specific budget.)
Using two survivors of leukemia and breast cancer, the creative focuses on the various life experiences they've survived-including their bouts with cancer-to convey strength of spirit. "We wanted the tone and communications to be inspirational," says Liz Vogt, Cronin's senior VP and director of strategic planning.
The high-visibility campaign is already achieving some encouraging anecdotal results. One of the cancer survivors featured in the campaign has been repeatedly recognized on the subway and asked if she really had cancer and where she received her treatment.
Internal Communications Strategy
Although the collaboration is a great strategic move from a research standpoint, it had some major internal communications barriers to overcome before it could get off the ground. The internal campaign, which began in January 1997, had to:
- Address negative employee perception about the partnership causing layoffs;
- Manage the egos of the hospital leadership involved; and
- Make sure that each hospital offered comparable cancer care services.
To work through these issues, a steering committee with representation from each hospital was formed.
The communications component focused on how the collaboration would bring together the clinical, research and administrative leadership of the three hospitals without cutting back on services or staffing. The employee campaign used newsletters, direct mail (to employees' homes) and town meetings.
The steering committee also developed a patient advocacy council that generated input from patients about how in-patient and outpatient care should be delivered.
By far, what has been most effective is relying on a financial model that shows how "equitable" the partnership is. Each hospital contributes a commensurate amount to the marketing campaign. (Cronin and Company, Liz Vogt, 860/659-0514, ext. 224; Dana-Farber/Partners, Caroline McKenney, 617/632-5679)