Why Hospitals Can't Advertise As They Please
by Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC

Advertising agencies are drooling like five-year-olds looking at a McDonald's wrapper over research about the McDonald's brand. In a Stanford study, toddlers preferred foods--even carrots and milk--that came wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches. They also preferred the taste of burgers and fries when they came in McDonald's wrappers over the same food in plain wrapping. This study showed the power of brand marketing, particularly advertising.

Is there too much emphasis on advertising in healthcare marketing? Let's put some things into perspective:

1. Hospitals market what people don't want. Marketing healthcare means to market something people do not want and may not need for years. Five-year-olds, nor their parents, are looking at hospital television advertising and making notes for the future. Healthcare is rarely on anyone's radar screen unless he or she needs it.

2. A brand passes from generation to generation. Ever compare your cupboard or laundry room with that of your mother? Chances are you have many of the same brands she used when you were growing up. Even hospitals are subject to this fate, for good or bad. Growing up in south Philadelphia, it was unspoken but understood where you would go if you became sick. Guess what? If I lived there today and had an emergency, I would probably still tell the ambulance to take me there.

3. Boomers (and five-year-olds) are more educated in their buying decisions than previous generations. At least, that's what everyone says. I have my doubts, judging from my own personal interactions with the healthcare system. At the very least, I think the older you are, the more cynical you get, so marketing messages may be viewed with more disdain.

4. The Web is the great equalizer. Social and viral marketing are everywhere. Just ask any hospital that's been battling to identify an anonymous blogger that's been posting negative content about them. People are talking and sharing information.

You Still Need Branding
Yes, branding is important. But branding is more than just advertising. The tool of choice, the biggest budget-buster for hospital marketers, is mass media advertising.

The Cleveland Clinic has a Chief Experience Officer for a reason. They realized that the brand is formed at the point of delivery. Making the delivery the best and most consistent it can be results in happy patients, positive word of mouth, and higher rates of referral. A few things to consider:

1. Be consistent in your message. I have encountered so many hospitals that have the same positioning. They tell me they have a reputation for being "high-touch" and offering personal care and for being "high-tech," with the sophisticated equipment and techniques of their big city brethren. You can't have it both ways. You need to dig deep and find your unique selling proposition. Your messaging and your marketing must remain consistent.

2. Interaction is the name of the game. If you are using television advertising, incorporate some compelling reason for people to go to the Web and do something at your site. One hospital ran two different commercials on how an expectant mom should announce her pregnancy to her husband. The choices were to show him paint samples for the spare bedroom or place an extra dinner setting at the table. The hospital asked people to go online and choose which advertisement they preferred. Distinctive imagery plus a call-to-action yielded considerable audience interest. The spot with the extra place setting was produced and aired.

3. Make lives better and show the lives you've improved. The primary reason people go to hospitals is to make their lives better. Many hospitals know this, but focus too much on technology instead of the ways they heal their patients. Healthcare is an emotional experience. Show the person who was helped by the equipment, and not just the equipment itself. Testimonials work best, but far too few hospitals feature real stories and real experiences in their advertisements.

4. Connect communities. If you can encourage people to come together and talk to each other about their mutual healthcare interests, it will reflect back on your brand. That can be accomplished online or face-to-face. Shouldice Hospital in Canada takes this to a science. Three to four day hospital stays, communal dining, and reunion dinners all foster interaction amongst like communities. Ninety-six (96) percent of referrals come from word of mouth. The Internet is one way to bring people together, but consider making some changes in-house before you begin outreach. Look strategically at all of the support groups you host and think about how to leverage them, in a good sense, for everyone's benefit.

A Dose of Reality
Let's keep in mind that, by and large, people still go where their doctor tells them. That said, consistent, integrated branding can still encourage patients to choose your hospital.

So before you put the golden arches on the roof of your building or rush to pour more dollars into advertising, consider the different beast we call healthcare. Yes, we can learn a lot from other industries and can benefit from their best practices. But this is one study we're better off fasting from than feasting on.