Hospitals Add New Dose of Advertising

TalentZoo.com | Flack Me | Digital Pivot | Beneath the Brand

Archives | Categories

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

While other industries are shrinking advertising budgets, the industry that heals the sick and comforts the afflicted is doing quite well. The New York Times reported that advertising spending for hospitals rose 20% to $717.2 million dollars in only the first half of the year. According to the Fierce Healthcare daily news, healthcare institutions in NY have spent almost $80 million themselves. The NYT retrieved its data from Kantar Media, a unit of WPP.

There has been a shift in the way advertising is being done for hospitals, and it looks like the shift is for the better. The article brings out that institutions are giving the ads a little more personality and life. For example, Mount Sinai Medical Center had a patient story that said "Ironic that a plumber came to us to remove a clog." Nice. An ad campaign for Group Health done by agency Frank Unlimited in Seattle included an ad that read, "We diagnose mumps, ear infections, and Legos lodged in noses daily."

Why the change? Susana Cascais from Frank Unlimited said it perfectly in the article. With the usual showing of hospital buildings, technology, or doctors, she said, if you covered the identifier or logo of the brand, "It could be anybody."

Hospitals, with the help of advertising, are beginning to develop brands and highlight their competitive advantages. In the U.S., we are fortunate to know that going to any health institution here will end with receiving top-notch care. What we are unsure about (and what the institutions want you to know) is what kind of experience we are going to have. How will we remember the visit? If we had to choose a healthcare institution, why would we pick them?

Healthcare institutions looking to create ads that tug at the heartstrings. How fitting.

blog comments powered by Disqus

About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

Beyond Madison Avenue on