Champagne taste, beer budget isn't a bad marketing predicament to be in if you're considering syndicated advertising materials. Given the climate of ever-tightening healthcare marketing budgets, more and more hospitals are finding themselves in the position of having to do more with less.
If you haven't considered using television commercials with a track record, now is an exciting time to do so because the options are expansive and the costs are affordable.
Keep in mind, however, that even in a syndicated context you get what you pay for and the campaigns are only as good as the brand strategies that drive them. In other words, don't expect to pay pennies for high-quality, customized work, and do your homework on brand identity before taking these commercials for a test drive.
Although the concept of using syndicated marketing campaigns in healthcare is hardly new (canned television advertising has been around for at least 15 years), the option has become much more popular in the last few years. The trend is most prevalent among organizations that need to create strong regional market identities with stagnant or shrinking budgets, says Cary Bynum, founder and president of BLR (Bynum Lawrence Rushing), a Birmingham, Ala., firm that provides syndicated marketing materials. The cost savings of leased ads are impressive. A full campaign with customization can average $35,000, whereas a brand new campaign can cost at least six figures, with production driving most of the expenses. "Several of my [healthcare] clients find that even if they can afford to create a new campaign, there's very little money left over to buy the media for it," says Bynum.
This argument is also starting to resonate with full-service advertising agencies that used to snub syndicated creative, according to Henry Whitfield, founder of AdExchange, the firm credited with initiating the syndicated commercial phenomenon in 1985. Half of AdExchange's business is generated from advertising agencies. For some healthcare organizations developing an original TV campaign is not an option, so full-service agencies would much rather work with these clients on customizing and supplementing these campaigns than missing out on the business altogether, says Whitfield.
Choosing the Tried and True
In spite of all of the pros of using leased commercials, the decision is still a tough call to make. Nagging concerns about whether the campaign will have the right hometown feel, look too canned or be recognized by viewers from other markets are valid and should be addressed during negotiations. For the most part, the customization options that are available help to minimize most of these concerns, says Bynum.
Duplication concerns are usually overcome with demographic exclusivity agreements. It's important, however, to negotiate this aspect of the deal aggressively. For instance, if your hospital is in a border market that attracts communities in a neighboring state, you will need to negotiate a wider geographical exclusivity agreement.
Generally Speaking
Although syndicated campaigns are available for several healthcare categories, marketers need to be acutely aware of the internal and external elements that comprise their brand identity, says Bynum. Being armed with this information is critical to selecting the best syndicated campaign and deciding the appropriate level of customization.
When Brookwook Medical Center in Homewood, Ala., decided to use a syndicated campaign by BLR it had done much of this legwork. The image campaign, launched in 1995, supported the corporate theme, "Someone's looking out for you." The music, originally produced and customized for the campaign, is what gave the campaign a distinct identity, says Scott Regan, who was the hospital's consulting leader for marketing and PR. Regan is now VP of marketing and strategic planning at Memorial Health in Savannah, Ga.
There were several variations on the music including ballad, pop and jazz styles that were available in key formats, from thirty-second and sixty-second spots to two-minute versions. The campaign supported two hospitals and at least 18 facilities. The audio selections allowed each facility to customize the campaign.
Overall the syndicated campaign was a huge hit financially and strategically, but there were some drawbacks, says Regan. For instance, the campaign couldn't closely reflect the hospital's target demographic of high-income, white females. Instead, the creative reflected a racial mix of Asians, Caucasians, Hispanics and African-Americans.
The campaign cost about $250,000 and would have been much less if syndicated audio were used instead of original music. But if the same campaign were done from scratch it would have cost at least $500,000, says Regan.
(AdExchange, Henry Whitfield, 800/243-2339; BLR, Cary Bynum, 205/324-8005; Scott Regan, Memorial Health, 912/350-8773)
Should you lease?
If you're interested in launching a campaign with syndicated commercials, consider the following:
- Choosing creative that is flexible enough to support an overall image campaign as well as specific product lines.
- Making sure the spots reflect your demographic community.
- Being prepared to get flak from your full-service agency that might slam your decision to use syndicated creative.