Medical Hospital General and Specialty

    • 13 posts
    August 5, 2016 2:46 PM PDT

    Hi, Any Hospital ideas? Client is heavy print and billboards. No radio.. State hospital - they have funding..just need promotional/ copy ideas to give them a taste of radio. Cancer, Children's Hospital, State of the Art facility. TIA!!!

    • 1373 posts
    August 5, 2016 3:04 PM PDT

    This is what one of my clients did: Nobody wants to buy advertising, but....

    I'll feature your post in the next message to our members, but in the meantime, you might also like to check out these discussion threads:

    Community Owned Hospitals

    Advertising for Local Hospital

    Medical/Healthcare Spots

    • 13 posts
    August 5, 2016 3:21 PM PDT

    Hi, Thanks, Yes. I saw this post earlier and his proposal.  Any other ideas or success stories?  We might look at endorsements as well.. Cancer Screenings, Colon, Prostate, etc.

    • 1373 posts
    August 5, 2016 3:38 PM PDT

    I know there's been an extensive thread here on promotions for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but that's not until October....  As I say, I'll put the word out to our members on Monday, and hopefully you'll get some good input.

    • 13 posts
    August 5, 2016 3:47 PM PDT

    Thanks! Have a Great weekend!!! 

    • 5 posts
    August 8, 2016 10:16 AM PDT

    Hello Julie,

    A couple campaigns our group has provided that worked well, and lasted for several years until it was time to come up with something fresh.

    -Cancer Survivor Series-Developed a 2 minute fixed position segment that introduced a Cancer Treatment physician or researcher-area of Cancer expertise, then a brief interview with a cancer patient who has survived, or currently in treatment.  We provided promos directing listeners to the piece, video for podcast of the physician interview for re airing and link on facebook, and the Hospital posted the recorded series on their web site.  We provided comp psa's for their cancer walks and fund raisers.   Charged a premium for the 2 minutes (aired Sat am), charged for the :30 promos $500/wk.

    -Children's Health Minute-timely and seasonal educational minute with an opening and closing by a Pediatrician ...everything from immunizations, bike helmets, kids and sports, vacation safety, pool safety, kids with allergies, and so on.  Aired Mon-Wed and Fri fixed time am, and Tues-Thurs pm.  Again $500/wk with :30 promo directive.  This aired on 2 stations where the family base is strong.  

    And of course taking care of their HR needs is another great revenue generator.  Provide a W.H.I.P. pkg (Weekend High Intensity Package) air from Noon Friday through Noon Monday.  Book 50 commercials and let em own it!

    • 53 posts
    August 8, 2016 10:20 AM PDT

    Without exception, all of my long-running, high-yield campaigns have been based on telling the stories of the customers--or, in this case, the survivors. For instance, for an alternative cancer-treatment center, we recorded cancer survivors telling their stories about the center. (One of the best lines ever in a commercial: an indignant cancer survivor saying, "Why does a doctor get to tell you how long you have to live? He is not God. He doesn't know how long you have to live.")

    A key here would be integrated, cross-platform storytelling. I don't know what they're saying in their other media. But I once worked on a campaign for a major health center in So Cal. The TV commercials, the radio, the YouTube videos--often, they were all different versions of the same patient story. And typically, the USP was how the health center is using advanced treatments (presumably) unavailable elsewhere.

    In virtually all of our medical advertising, we've focused on patient victories, and tell stories that are engaging and emotionally evocative. As we all know, people are wired for story. Positioning the client as the facilitator of those victories typically works out well.

    • 118 posts
    August 8, 2016 10:57 AM PDT

    Most campaigns I've seen follow one of these subject matters

    1) qualifications of staff to provide above average expertise

    2) an emergency room low wait time

    3) the idea the employees really care

    I like an angle of putting employees on the spot to get across the message "you do have a choice" when it comes to hospitals.  I'd center on the caring aspect, creating an image as much as possible that it's as much like 'home' as a hospital can be.  That the hospital hires people who are not only exceptional but they care.  You aren't a patient, you are a neighbor or a friend, not just a patient...where care means we really do.

    • 993 posts
    August 8, 2016 11:08 AM PDT

    Julie, we have one hospital here in Pullman, another 8 miles away in Moscow, Idaho, another 15 miles away in Colfax, WA, and several in Lewiston, Idaho/Clarkston, Washington 35 miles away.

    All of them advertise on radio, most on a daily basis 52 weeks a year.

    This should convey to your prospective client that radio is, at the very least, a viable medium for hospitals to influence consumers.

    Apart from things like childbirth or elective surgeries (such as joint replacements), people don't plan on hospitalization. Most are admitted either through the emergency department or on the basis of a doctor's referral due to serious illness or injury.

    If the consumer has a choice of hospitals, it's reasonable to want to brand your client as the preferred choice, based on their strengths and appeal. In any case, advertising constantly keeps them top-of-mind and influences how consumers will feel and think about them. And there is no medium better suited to this than radio. Hospitals are "high-touch" institutions, as patients interact with doctors, nurses, nurses' aides, therapists, etc. - even housekeeping. Human connections matter. Conversations matter. And what is radio? Human speech, in all its richness. People talking to people.  Print is an imitation of speech. Billboards are an imitation of speech. They're cold and sterile compared to human speech.

    Google "Cleveland Clinic Empathy" and check out their videos online, for a quick immersion into how hospital issues are human issues. They might help to inform your direction for the radio campaign.

    I'm going to share three of the many commercials I've written over the years for our local hospital, as illustrations of what can be done. We create 30s and 60s abnd sometimes will piggyback two 30s to make a 60. All depends on what we're wanting to communicate.

    Your client is different from mine. They'll have different areas of focus or specialization. So, you'll need to uncover their strengths and benefits to patients and their families, and there are lots of ways you can help them tell their stories, one at a time. Don't try to cram too much in a single ad. Let each ad tell just one story, and do as many ads as there are stories to tell. Avoid cliches. Avoid generalities. Specifics are much more compelling. Maybe interview employees about why they like working at the hospital, and turn them into natural sounding testimonials. (DO NOT SCRIPT THESE! Scripted "testimonials" or "conversations" usually stink of contrivance.)

    So, here are some idea starters for you.

    • 5 posts
    August 8, 2016 11:08 AM PDT

    Hey Julie,

    Our local community hospital does a weekly 'medical minute' along with their regular spots.  This airs right before our local 8am news break during our local morning shows.  It has been very successful for them.

    Hazel Cording

    WCHM

    Clarkesville, GA

    • 10 posts
    August 8, 2016 11:42 AM PDT

    Hi Julie,

    Since they don't like straight up radio, perhaps a digital streaming campaign...when listeners are tuned into your station on their smart phone, tablet or computer etc...they can run messages accompanied by a static logo or even a short video with a link that comes up on whatever gadget people are using to listen.  Of course the campaign can include a few on-air spots as well.  I had a local hospital sponsor a dedicated "Health & Lifestyle" page on our website. They basically owned the page with their own header and banner ads that linked to various services they offered.  I ran lots of promos encouraging listeners to visit the Aultman Health & Lifestyle page for valuable information about (whatever was being promoted at the time).  They liked the "visual" opportunities rather than radio only.

    -Jane

    • 2 posts
    August 8, 2016 1:30 PM PDT

    Best campaign I ever heard for a hospital was for prostate cancer treatment ....and it involved a series of commercials focusing on the other family members ...wife, boy and girl, even the dog and cat had a voice ....all of them told a story of the trails of having the disease and how it impacts everyone ....the theme was about getting tested ...and the final tag was about if one family member has cancer ...everyone has it as a group ...it was quite powerful

    • 993 posts
    August 8, 2016 2:19 PM PDT

    (One of the best lines ever in a commercial: an indignant cancer survivor saying, "Why does a doctor get to tell you how long you have to live? He is not God. He doesn't know how long you have to live.")

    Wow! You can't script stuff like this. Human. Real. Pure gold.  Nicely done, Blaine.

    Any chance of hearing a sample or two?

    • 13 posts
    August 9, 2016 5:17 AM PDT

    great suggestions!!! Thank you !! 

    • 13 posts
    August 9, 2016 5:19 AM PDT

    Thank you!!!! 

    • 13 posts
    August 9, 2016 5:21 AM PDT

    great ideas thank you! 

    • 13 posts
    August 9, 2016 5:26 AM PDT

    thank you for the tips!!

    • 13 posts
    August 9, 2016 5:27 AM PDT

    thank you!!!!! 

    • 13 posts
    August 9, 2016 5:27 AM PDT

    Thank you!!!