PHILDELPHIA - These remarks will sound familiar:
- "Our advertising budget was cut in half last year."
- "We're pulling our advertising production in-house."
- "Our budgets are flat so we can't keep up with the year before."
All were sentiments of some of the 900 attendees at the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development Third Annual Conference here.
But for Baptist Health, stretching advertising dollars by firing its agencies and bringing the work in-house has forced staff to work harder and more efficiently. And has resulted in positive pay off in the public relations arena.
Several years ago the network of hospitals headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., pulled its business from two advertising agencies and began operating in-house with a staff of seven, dropping advertising production expenditures significantly, earning more respect from sales representatives at television and radio stations and drawing new leverage with media outlets for stories and partnerships.
For example, the Baptist network paid an advertising agency $95,000 in the early 90s to produce two television commercials and was charged $426,000 for air time. In the third quarter of 1996, Baptist produced an award-winning series of five television commercials in-house for just $28,000 and paid $175,000 for air time. In addition, the network now saves the 15 percent markup agencies generally charge for ad placement and is able to negotiate better terms because staff now deals directly with sales representatives, says Margot Vogel, marketing and communications manager. "We do not have an agency of record. We work with two or three on an as-needed basis."
The staff drew on expertise from previous employment. Cara Wade, the public relations manager, worked as a reporter and anchor with a television station, and Vogel previously worked at an advertising agency. Additionally, other staff picked up tasks based on interests. For example, a audio/video staffer, it was learned, has a knack for creative writing and another staffer enjoys placing advertising with media. Hosptial also staffers outside of the marcom department participated in the commercials.
Through its new-found relationship with the media, Baptist Health has garnered story placements on its own terms and regular spots on television stations, says Wade. The hospital network suggested a heart transplant series that resulted in an award for the ABC affiliate, that followed the patients. Sixty of the network's doctors auditioned for a weekly television spot on the local ABC affiliate. And during a recent practical parenting month, physicians manned a phone bank for radio shows.
The payoff for public relations has been both internal and external.
Internally, using staff for commercials boosted morale, and externally the network is receiving unprecedented exposure. For example, the television commercials that cost only $28,000 to produce resulted in 2,000 calls for a new baby-planning kit. And a recent partnership for child identification kits garnered 30,000 calls for finger printing kits. Each one is branded with Baptist Health and Channel News 7 logos.
Look for further coverage of the show in our Sept. 17 issue. (Margot Vogel, Baptist Health, 501/202-1812.)