GAINING HEART BUSINESS IN A TOUGH ENVIRONMENT

There are more than 60 hospitals in the tri-county South Florida market and competition amongst those who perform heart surgery is intense. Endeavoring to increase its heart surgery volume, Cleveland Clinic engaged Knight Marketing to answer the competition with a bold campaign that would leverage the Clinic's international name, along with excellent clinical outcomes.

The “Much Like Cleveland Clinic” campaign posed the question: There are those who seek to be like Cleveland Clinic, but why go elsewhere if you can actually go to the Cleveland Clinic itself? The campaign message was executed across online and offline mediums including television and radio. Innovative newspaper placements also helped drive home the campaign message and generate attention.

Solid proof of the Clinic's bold claim, “A Higher Rate of Survival and Fewer Complications in Heart Care” was essential, so the agency and Clinic provided third-party proof and vetted it through a number of legal and medical channels.

Results:

Within three months of the campaign launch, more than 1,000 phone calls were generated and cardiac procedures increased by 100 percent.

Click for Television Spot	Click for Radio Spot

CONVINCING MORE WOMEN TO GET MAMMOGRAMS

As part of a comprehensive cancer care service line, Southeast Georgia Health System, a multi-facility health system with headquarters in Brunswick, launched a dedicated Breast Care Center. Research conducted prior to the center's opening indicated that within the eight-county target market, more than 40 percent of women were either not obtaining mammograms regularly or were seeking diagnostic and therapeutic breast care outside the service area. Therefore, a multi-media campaign was created to achieve several objectives:

• Create awareness of and preference for the Center, its services, its advanced technology and comprehensive approach
• Build patient volume, particularly in mammography and digital mammography
• Educate the target market and encourage women to schedule mammography and breast exams on a regular basis

The creative strategy was to evoke emotion through strong imagery and a thought-provoking theme line, “Make Breast Care a Routine for Life.” Campaign concepts were tested through a series of on-site focus groups, and the selected concept was implemented through a broad mix of consumer media and patient education.

Results:

Two months following the launch, figures compared to the same quarter in the previous year showed a 10 percent increase in mammograms, while volume rose 15 percent over the previous quarter.

Fresh Awareness for an Established Brand

The Cleveland Clinic has offered full-service care in South Florida since 1987. Yet, despite its global reputation, focus groups pointed to lower than expected consumer awareness in the critical counties of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. Research also uncovered some consumer confusion over the brand, particularly its history, culture, and capabilities. Our goals:

• Create top-of-mind awareness, including unaided recall, among consumers when asked to name the area's leading hospitals

• Create consumer preference for Cleveland Clinic for complicated and hard-to-treat conditions, new medical technologies, and advanced techniques

• Gain total market share within the Broward County service area with an 18-24 month period.

Knight Marketing responded with a phased and integrated, multi-channel campaign to achieve the established goals and reinforce our client's unique brand. Launch took place in the second quarter of '09 with extensive print and out-of-home tactics.

Results:

After three quarters of campaign media, focus group studies revealed a multi-point jump in brand awareness, including unaided recall putting Cleveland Clinic in the top five most-mentioned hospitals. Participants also described the organization as high quality, and the place to go for serious conditions like heart disease and cancer.

Two Launches, Two Owners and Brands. One Hospital and Agency.

When the Cleveland Clinic, already established in South Florida, chose to expand to Naples, Knight Marketing was asked to handle the launch. We developed a campaign designed to pique local interest and drive physical traffic to the new facility upon its opening. To build awareness while the campus was under construction, we mapped out the following high-profile activities:

• A public groundbreaking ceremony

• Strategic media placements

• Ongoing public relations and direct mail providing construction updates

• A one-day grand opening event which drew 6,000 attendees

Six years later, the facility was acquired by Health Management Associates, Inc., a national hospital network. Our challenge? Reposition, rename, and re-launch under the banner of a new, for-profit owner. The resulting new brand, graphic standards, and advertising focused on a high standard of care that would remain consistent, regardless of the hospital's name.

Results:

The grand opening event for the Cleveland Clinic drew more than 6,000 people. When the hospital was acquired and re-introduced, more than 70 percent of the population was aware of the ownership change within 150 days of the campaign launch, with the overwhelming majority rating their perception of the transition as positive.

A New Concept in Emergency Care Catches On

The demographics of Mount Sinai Medical Center's Miami Beach market had changed. The need to attract patients had not. Facing stiff competition from a nearby competitor, Mount Sinai became one of the first hospitals in the state to secure a certificate of need for a freestanding emergency room, which would help capture patients from the competitor and create another portal for hospital admissions.

The challenges: First, how to convince area residents that this new concept in emergency care was a safe and viable option, and second, how to create preference that would translate into volume?

Knight Marketing's strategy was to use a lot of classic ER imagery and focus messaging on the acute care capabilities of the facility to help mitigate any perception that the new facility was just another walk-in clinic. In addition, the Mount Sinai brand, known for quality medicine, was heavily leveraged. The area surrounding the facility was saturated pre-opening with print advertising and direct mail, and the campaign continued throughout the facility's first year of operation with the addition of radio and out-of-home. Brochures and material for sales representatives were also included as part of the integrated campaign.

Results:

Visits to the freestanding ER rose steadily from opening day, including a 58 percent increase in the first two quarters of the second operational year. Admissions during that same time period rose 67 percent.

A NATIONAL SALES TEAM GETS A MARKETING SHOT IN THE ARM

As one of the nation's largest hospice providers, VITAS was challenged with re-invigorating its sales force in a competitive landscape. An analysis of current sales tools and training revealed a need for some new protocols. In addition, it became apparent that although VITAS had an abundance of sales collateral, utilization by the sales team was ineffective.

Working hand-in-hand with the marketing and sales departments, Knight Marketing developed new systems and materials for the sales force, including a guide for each program organizing available sales collateral in an intuitive fashion, coupled with sales backgrounders providing helpful tips and explaining how and when each collateral piece should be used. To augment the binder and help sales representatives stay organized, we developed a quarterly sales calendar with key reporting dates and health observances that connected to materials featured in the binder. Last, we created robust quarterly plans of action that not only introduce new materials and tools, but also guide representatives in their most effective use.

“The response we received from our sales managers and representatives has been fantastic,” said Vice President of Corporate Marketing Drew Landmeier. “These materials, particularly the quarterly plans of action, quickly became an indispensable tool within our 45 programs. Knight Marketing took what were previously problems for us and turned them into well-thought-out, organized solutions that have made our sales force stronger."

Results:

A five percent increase in the company's national census in the year the tools were implemented.