Agencies with designs on the booming healthcare market, one of the most profitable in PR, need to focus special attention on developing strategic informational partnerships.
These alliances, often with companies outside of the industry, allow healthcare organizations to reach larger audiences using limited funds. Partnerships also allow healthcare organizations to strengthen ties with employer groups and the business community.
The collaboration between Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (SVMH) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Salinas, Calif. is a case in point.
The hospital and government space agency together forged a "Partners in Health Technology" initiative last spring. Instead of doing a run-of-the-mill grand opening for SVMH's newly expanded Regional Heart Center last year, the hospital and NASA created a 16-day exhibit event in March to educate the community about the latest advances in cardiovascular medical science.
The campaign focused on SVMH's high-tech capabilities, the scope of its facilities and the credentials of its medical staff. It also earned the Best PR Campaign of 1998 award this month from Healthcare PR & Marketing News, PR NEWS sister publication.
The NASA Salinas partnership was an innovative way to generate excitement in the community about some fascinating space spin-off technologies in medicine, like a three-dimensional imaging capability used in reconstructive surgery and real-time telemedicine conferencing that uses NASA's low-earth orbit satellites.
The campaign reached out to the educational, agriculture, medical and business communities as well as various patient groups. All for $100,000. Part of the campaign, for instance, was aimed at teaching students and their teachers about how space research and modern hospital advancements are delivering the latest lifesaving services. And a wide range of patient groups, including heart surgery and diabetic patients, were brought up to speed on medical breakthroughs made possible by NASA research, like a heart pacemaker that can be programmed from outside the body and a three-inch implant for delivering insulin.
So far the partnership is delivering some impressive results. The 16-day event reached more than 100,000 people and raised more than $160,000 for the heart center. But the program also serves as a great model for other hospital partnerships, particularly for academic and research-oriented hospitals, says Susan Hanks-Marscellis, SVMH's director of media and public relations. "The melding of cutting edge NASA medical research with the down-to-earth, day-to-day, medical needs of average citizens is a highly effective vehicle to educate the community about your healthcare organization, its services and expertise.
One-Stop-Shopping
Another exciting area for healthcare organizations to explore informational partnerships is the retail industry where companies are becoming more interested in providing credible, consumer-based health information. In February, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Kroger Food Stores and Procter & Gamble collaborated on a women's health initiative in Ohio to educate consumers on disease management and preventive healthcare. The month-long initiative is believed to be the first health outreach program involving a health insurer, a consumer drug products manufacturer and a retail store operator, says Diane Planck, an account supervisor for HMS Success, the Cincinnati-based PR agency handling the project.
Positioned as a "one-stop-shop" for female consumers, the partnership provided screenings for skin health, osteoporosis and breast cancer at 19 Kroger stores and special women's health kiosks displayed in 96 Kroger's throughout Southwest Ohio. So far, the effort has reached 100,000 women.
This event grew from an already existing relationship between the three companies that sponsor a national Speaking of Women's Health conference that offers disease management, prevention and educational materials. Anthem, which had recently earned health plan business from Kroger and P&G, was looking for a way to better leverage its relationship in the Ohio market where all three companies are headquartered. But what makes the chemistry work is that all of the organizations have a vested interest in providing high-quality health information, says Planck.
There are challenges to working with major retail organizations, each with distinct approaches and strategies for marketing and PR. To overcome those differences, Planck says its important to agree on a communications strategy as early as possible and make sure that the plan reflects each organization's input. In this case, it was important to position each company as women's health advocates, particularly among the media, says Planck.
(SVMH, 831/759-1825; HMS Success, Diane Planck, 513/336-2427)