At Circle J Medical Center, they are committed disciples of the old marketing axiom, “What’s in it for me?”

“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) Read the full story »

Transparency is one of the hottest trends in healthcare right now. At Neptune Hospital, they’ve fully embraced transparency with a new advertising campaign titled “We’re really trying.” (See sample ad after story.) The 330-bed hospital has suffered from more than two decades of poor clinical care, awful customer service and horrible mismanagement. In 2002, an orthopedic surgeon performed knee joint replacement surgery on a patient’s shoulder. (The same error was repeated in 2004 and again in 2005 before the surgeon retired.) In 2006, the hospital opened a $20 million medical spa called “Facetastic” on land behind the hospital. Unfortunately, the land covered a deteriorating portion of the city’s sewer system, and the facility was closed and condemned one year later. The system constantly ranks in the lower percentiles of quality, safety and customer service in national studies. Obviously, it was time for a change. Read the full story »

For the first time in 20 years, the hospital message “we care” has been usurped as most valued message from a hospital. The new champ? “Our physicians are board certified.” That’s according to the annual consumer survey conducted by the Center for Research About People. Each year, it randomly polls 10,000 adults between the ages of 37 and 38 in the U.S., and asks them the following question: “Which message is most likely to get you to abandon the physician you’ve seen for years, drive 100 miles out of your way, or otherwise choose a hospital service you ordinarily would never consider?” Read the full story »