A well told story can be a powerful marketing tool, especially in healthcare. One patient’s experience can impact a prospective patient’s thinking, actions, and behaviors—enabling them to explore potential healthcare decisions through a highly personal lens.Dynamic Care Make PersonalIn 2015, the marketing team at El Camino Hospital in California began collaborating with advertising agency Laughlin Constable to take stock of market share trends, competitive threats, and more. Stakeholder interviews and a structured visioning session produced a strategic communications blueprint for the hospital. An organizing concept—Dynamic Care Made Personal—became the focus for a multi-channel campaign to redefine what it means to be a community hospital.“El Camino has a great story to tell,” says Kelsey Martinez, director of marketing + communications for El Camino Hospital. “But how could we tell it in a way that would stand out from the market noise? We knew consumers had high perceptions of our facilities. However, most didn’t realize how advanced we’d become over the years. Those who understood our capabilities had wonderful stories to tell. So, we turned to them to tell ours.”Results Tell the Marketing StoryAn integrated campaign, led by TV, debuted in late August 2016. Digital banners, social media ads, and native video drove consumers to richer content on the hospital’s website, where they could hear from patients directly and take a next step. According to Martinez, initial results were very gratifying. Primary market awareness increased over 60 percent in just nine months. Paid search drove high value visits (visits where the searcher went on to engage with the Find a Doc tool or reference location pages). The patient story hub was also effective, with 69 percent of page views moving on to additional content.Embrace Patient StorytellingIn a recent issue of SHSMD's Spectrum, Martinez and Susan Hoeft, vice president of account management at Laughlin Constable, share additional insights for showcasing patients in healthcare marketing.
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