The first billboard, emblazoned with ‘Text 24347824 to find out our ER Wait Times,’ generated a 40% increase in ER patient volume the first day.  “They couldn’t get the ambulances here fast enough,” Chief Marketing Officer Handley McNeil noted.  “Within one week, we were the top ER volume in the state. It was amazing, especially since our ER wait times actually went through the roof!”

Emboldened by that success, they launched a follow-up effort titled ‘Picture Yourself at CNUMC.’ This phase of the campaign billboard offered a prize: ‘Tweet a picture of yourself driving by this billboard and you’ll be entered to win $100,000!’

“This was a great touch,” enthused McNeil, “It allowed people to real-time picture share via a picture-based photo site we’d set up. All you needed was a smartphone to enter!”

The winner of the contest, Sam Fisherton, was “shocked and amazed,” when he found out he won. “This will really help out,” Mr. Fisherton said from his rehabilitation hospital bed.  “One less hip I have to pay for!”

The campaign has been so successful in raising ED volumes that McNeil is planning a third phase featuring billboards with QR codes on Interstate 37.

“It will definitely take some skill to use a QR code scanner while cruising 75 miles an hour, but that makes it more fun,” said McNeil. “This combination of new technologies and traditional ads is literally bringing bodies to our front door.”

According to Casey Nomenclature, spokesperson for the Healthcare Observation Naming Consortium (HONC), this designation was long overdue.

“Of course, everyone is familiar with American Heart Month in February, or National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, which are very important observations,” said Nomenclature. “But people really aren’t aware of the more than 178 observations recognized by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For example, did you know October is National Medical Librarians Month? We just thought it was important people were aware of all the monthly designations that help people become aware.”

Other important, but lesser known, designations include:

• National Folic Acid Awareness Week (January 2-8)
• Sports Eye Safety Month (April)
• Mediterranean Diet Month (May)
• National School Backpack Awareness Day (September 15)
• Fruits and Veggies – More Matters Month (September)
• National Rip Current Awareness Week (June 5 -11)

Nomenclature also notes that people need to remember all of the designations related to healthcare workers, such as National Medical Transcriptionist Week (May), National Nurses in Staff Development Week (July) and Nuclear Medicine Week (October).

“Thank goodness for Eldridge Macintosh, a founding member of HONC, who made the controversial decision in 1947 to allow for multiple observations for the same month, week or day, which opened the door to all these very important designations,” says Nomenclature. “From our perspective, the more designations we can make, the more the country will pay attention to these important issues.”

Waynesville Health director of marketing, Garth Sanders, remarked, “We know for a fact that reaching women is critical to the success of almost any healthcare marketing campaign. They wear the pants, so to speak, when it comes to making healthcare decisions. We needed a campaign that not only spoke to women, but was spoken by women. After a month of brainstorming we came up with ‘That’s what she said,’ a campaign that focuses on testimonials from women who’ve experienced the compassionate care of our hospital and clinics.”

While outdoor, print and television advertising played an important role in the campaign, the element that really took off was social media, specifically twitter. “We asked consumers to tweet about the healthcare decisions they’re faced with,” said Sanders. “And, we were stunned at how quickly our #ThatsWhatSheSaid hash tag took off. We see hundreds, if not thousands, of tweets and retweets each day.”

“We don’t try to understand every tweet that rolls in,” Sanders added. “They make sense within the context of their respective conversations. We’re just excited to see our brand penetrate the market and social media community in such powerful manner.”

A quick search of the #ThatsWhatSheSaid hash tag reveals the impressive reach of this campaign. Results include:

• It’s been a while since you’ve used it that way. #thatswhatshesaid
• You’ve been at it for hours are you finished yet? #thatswhatshesaid
• This outcome is most unimpressive. #thatswhatshesaid
• Sweet mother of pearl! I don’t even know what to say! #thatswhatshesaid

“Credit must be given where it’s due,” Sanders added. “Our graphic design intern, Jeremy, really drove this concept. Fresh out of college, we were floored by his innovative thinking. Not to mention his modesty.” When the Weekly Probe caught up with Jeremy during his holiday break we asked for his thoughts on the campaign.

“I don’t feel like I can take total credit for the concept,” Jeremy commented. “In fact I’m a little shocked at how the team latched on to it. During a brainstorm session someone suggested a lengthy title and Garth said, ‘That’s way too long.’ I replied, ‘That’s what she said.’ And the rest is history, I guess.”

Modest indeed.

“Everyday we ask ourselves, in what new way can we talk about ourselves, call attention to ourselves, shine the spotlight on ourselves?” says senior market director Joseph Kool. “Truly, what is in it for us?”

The latest incarnation of the organization’s marketing strategy is a new ad campaign (see sample ad below) featuring their own doctors and touting the organization’s penchant for winning awards, hiring attractive staff and its overall awesomeness. The campaign has an internal component as well, featuring mirrors hung at ten-foot increments throughout the hallways so staff can admire themselves as they pass by.

“What makes this campaign so successful, other than the fact that we rock, is its uniqueness,” says Kool. “As far as we know, not many other hospitals are talking about themselves in their advertising, so our message is bound to stand out and really resonate with customers.”

Sample ad: “Look at us”

“Our name is somewhat esoteric – our offices are in a three-story office building in East St. Louis,” said clinic administrator Dan Calisher. “But our name has cache in the community, so we focused on changing the logo.”

Grassy Acres hired famed branding firm Pretension to design its new identity. The firm has gained national recognition for its “Brand Fabric Weaving Rubric” that boils organizational brands down to one simple metaphoric symbol. For example, the firm won the prestigious Golden Gloss Award for its “doves cooing” logo designed in 2007 for defense contractor Massive Dynamics. According to Calisher, however, initial concepts failed to capture the essence of the Grassy Acres brand.

“They were producing very high-end concepts, like a Euro-Brazilian version of the yin-yang symbol, or a grain of sand reflecting the face of a forest gnome,” he explained. “But we insisted the new logo be a literal interpretation of what we do. We wanted patients to know, simply by glancing at our logo, exactly how we would help them.”

The final concept – dubbed “Man lays pipe” by Pretension – won unanimous acceptance from the leadership of Grassy Acres. (A sampling of other concepts explored by Pretension are shown below.) To help launch the new logo identity, staff were given t-shirts, coffee mugs and enema tubing emblazoned with the logo, and a giant three-story banner featuring the identity was unfurled on launch day with the headline “The new face of GI.”

Alternative logos developed for Grassy Acres GI Center:

“We heard about this idea of ‘transparency’ at a national conference, and we liked the idea of airing all of our dirty laundry,” said vice president of marketing Tom Teynah. “Clearly, trying to fix all of this was out of the question. But we thought, hey, let’s go with this honesty thing.”

The hospital says it’s too early to report overall results from the campaign, but anecdotal evidence is already piling up.

“I spoke with my 65-year-old neighbor the other day, right after she waited more than 2 hours to see her primary care physician,” said Teynah. “Boy, was she pissed. She said she wished she seen the advertising earlier, so clearly it’s making an impact on people.”

Sample campaign ad: “CEO/Pricks”

In 2008, the five most popular responses were:

1. Our physicians are board certified.
2. We care.
3. We’re ranked #1 in (fill in the blank).
4. We’re high touch and high tech.
5. We care a lot.

While there was a new number one response this year, study director Louden Swain expects that to change soon.

“With virtually every hospital claiming a number one ranking in at least one area, there’s no doubt that will be the message to watch,” said Swain

“Once we dug into this, we couldn’t believe what we uncovered,” said WiseBucks editor Joe Duhh. “Hospitals – believe it or not – are actually run like businesses. We were floored.”

Among the report’s findings:

• despite the fact that most hospitals are “non-profit,” they still must take in more money then they spend
• hospitals actually spend money to try and attract patients to their services (and in a ghastly finding, sometimes refer to them as “customers,” or worse, “consumers”)
• revenue from many hospital patients – particularly those with Medicare insurance – does not cover the cost of serving those patients
• shockingly, some hospitals have actual waterfalls

WiseBucks has won acclaim for its past investigating reporting, including:

“The moon is spherical: will this affect the tides?”
“While all squares are rectangles, not all rectangles are squares: the inside story.”
“Weather forecasters: could they be getting some predictions wrong?”

“Look, times are tough, and if you can’t prove the positive financial impact on this organization, then it’s time to go,” said Evertree Chief Financial Officer Al Dunlap. “Hey, even God needs to show an ROI.”

Dunlap added that additional hospital services and amenities could follow in the same path.

“Our patient rooms are still decorated using a 1972 mauve, and there’s talk of updating the decor,” he said. “Show me someone who can prove the financial return on a can of paint, and I’ll show you a magician.”

Evertree Hospital Pastor Bill Gramm was unavailable for comment. The hospital will be auctioning off pews, crosses and other religious artifacts on e-Bay beginning July 1.

“If you look directly at a patient, you may come to know them, know them personally,” said Weber during his 73-minute speech on the floor of the House of Representatives last Tuesday. “Where I come from, direct eye contact is awfully forward. It’s an invasion of privacy.”

The House Committee on Healthcare Reform will take up the matter in next week’s regularly scheduled committee meetings. The issue of how eye contact will be monitored and enforced was not addressed in Representative Weber’s bill.