pulse CheCk health care marketers discuss their defining moments

american marketing association market ingpower.com

health servicesMarketing

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Painting the town redMd anderson rebrands to

“Make Cancer history”

Gps for the social Media

superhighwayTraffic moves fast, so make sure you’ve got a strategic road map

prognosis: Convenience

Vanderbilt transforms a mall to enhance patient experience

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or agenda tied to their recommendations.”When a patient leaves the exam room,

for example, it’s important to provide something positive to remember, such as a remarkable experience to talk about. Start demanding that every employee—not only the physician—who is involved in the patient’s experience understands this golden rule.

In his book “Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human relationships” (Bantam Books, 2007), Daniel Goleman shares that, in exit interviews with patients leaving a health plan, 25 percent attri-bute their departure to a doctor’s bedside manner, saying, “I didn’t like the way my physician communicated with me.”

Fostering positive Wom is the respon-sibility of everyone connected to the health care organization. From the C-suite to the mailroom, everyone should understand the importance and necessity of providing an exceptional patient experience.

Cafferky advises marketers not to forget that nurses are still considered some of the most important Wom carriers about a health care organization.

Creating positive experiences also happens outside the walls of the health care facility. When physicians and staff participate in health fairs, charity walks or health screenings, they’re building informal Wom for your organization.

A Final WordThose who dismiss the power of Wom are missing a huge opportunity to create lifelong customers.

The continuing demise of traditional marketing methods combined with the rise of new digital marketing options helps Wom remain a surefire advertising tactic for health care marketers. Inexpensive and effective, it could be a marketing profes-sional’s dream.

Dr. Wright’s tactic for achieving success in today’s challenging market is simple: Provide a positive health care experience worth talking about. mhs

✒ daniel fredrickS is manager of clinical marketing at the Dean Clinic-riverview in Janesville, Wis. He may be reached at daniel.fredricks@deancare.com.

Rehabilitation at WorkA brand-building campaign strengthens

the image of physical therapists

By Emilio Rouco and Deborah Myers

As increased opportunities for consumers to directly access health care providers continue, clinicians and their professional associations are progressively utilizing marketing and communications to showcase their capabilities and relevance. In 2007, the American Physical Therapy Association—which represents more than 77,000 member

physical therapists, physical therapy assistants and students—embarked on a multi-year initiative to elevate the profession. APTA partnered with public relations and marketing firm CRT/tanaka to conduct a comprehensive study to determine how patients and prospective patients view physical therapists, and to develop and implement a new branding strategy.

E D u C AT I O N I N M O T I O N : The American Physical Therapy Association launched

a brand campaign to, in part, expose consumers to the benefits of physical therapy. Through a series of brand

images and videos, shown here and on page 6, APTA established a strong voice and social media presence.

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ombined results from focus groups and quantitative research revealed

a common attitude about physical therapists: 90 percent of consumers surveyed view physical therapists positively, but they limited the role of physi-cal therapists to rehabilitation. Respondents also reported that they would be more likely to see a physical therapist if they knew he could improve mobility, provide an alternative to surgery and manage or eliminate pain without medication.

With these attitudes revealed, CrT/tanaka worked with APTA to develop a brand campaign to educate consumers on the benefits of physical therapy and increase the relevance of the profession. The new brand was based on ownership of one’s mo-tion. “move Forward” became the brand mantra, expressing a rallying cry for the profession and the value proposition for consumers. Through a variety of mediums, the Move Forward campaign educates consumers about the benefits of working with a physical therapist.

After introducing the brand to APTA’s members in 2009, the Move Forward campaign was rolled out to consumers in 2010. The vision was clear: It would lead the conversation in traditional and digital channels to demonstrate the breadth of physical therapists’ expertise.

Becoming a HubResearch indicates that, when consumers seek health informa-tion, the Internet is second only to a primary care physician. Women, in particular, spend a great deal of time researching conditions and treatments.

With this in mind, the online hub moveForwardPT.com has

strived to become the WebMD of physical therapy. The content strategy for the site is consumer-driven, and the site’s “Ask a PT” section received upward of 500 questions within six months. Through Ask a PT, physical therapists address a wide range of health issues outside of reha-bilitation and the database now includes more than 95 answers from physical therapists. The site addresses specific conditions and shares targeted prevention tips with cyclists, gardeners, office-dwellers and other audiences with specific movement needs, as well.

To further enhance content and become a go-to resource, the site has a video feature. Video captures the message of a physical therapist like no other medium; seeing a physical therapist in action eliminates the unknown for consumers. Both the site and a YouTube channel are populated with 49 videos highlighting a variety of conditions. In total, videos have been viewed more than 60,500 times and the channel has 202 subscribers.

Establishing Presence and VoiceAs a new brand, Move Forward needed to establish itself and deliver messages across many channels. moveForwardPT.com serves as home base, with social media and advertising employed to drive traffic back to the site.

In 2010 and 2011, televi-sion ads were developed and launched across four markets throughout the country and on CNN. radio spots were also developed to run nationally on Sirius/Xm. each employed a fun approach that showed people experiencing challenges with everyday activities, such as reaching or bending. The

C

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message to consumers was that physical therapy could restore motion, reducing the need for surgery or pain medication.

With ads active nationally, Move Forward launched a social media campaign by establish-ing relationships with popular, niche online communities that influence consumers. each community had low awareness of the role a physical therapist could play in a patient’s well-ness regimen. Within a year of the launch, 27 influential outlets—including About.com, USA Today, BlogHer.com and livestrong.com—covered con-tent from the website.

In addition, influentials such as Aol’s That’s Fit website, BabyCenter.com, the Hollyrod Foundation, Grandparents.com and blogger Talli van Sunder partnered with the Move Forward campaign, legitimizing it in the social media world. With an es-tablished presence in traditional

and digital forms, the brand could focus on polishing and further developing its website as a major driver for consumers to see a physical therapist.

Connecting with Prospective PatientsIn addition to educating the community about the role of physical therapists, the new campaign needed to boost physical therapists’ interactions with consumers to establish a reputation for the profession. live events and conversations via Twitter called “tweetchats” were an ideal platform for this interaction.

In partnership with well-respected websites and blog-gers, physical therapists provided their expertise in real time during the one-hour live tweetchats. In 2010, these events covered the topics of pregnancy, obesity, children with disabilities and running.

Participants were invited to bring their questions to a group discussion on Twitter, where they could swap stories with others who shared their health concerns and tap into the ex-pertise of a physical therapist. Each chat boosted site traffic, doubling monthly traffic since the website’s launch.

In 2011, the campaign en-hanced the live event concept with a video feed broadcast via livestream.com as part of “Fit for life,” a conversation about maintaining health and fitness as people age. The event featured a panel of physical therapists available to answer consumer questions.

This audiovisual addition allowed physical therapists to demonstrate exercises, pitfalls and proper technique. The physical therapists also added perspective as to when and why a person should consider seeing a physical therapist.

The Move Forward brand has been consistent and strong in meeting its communication objectives since its inception and in its ability to create synergies among research, branding, and traditional and digital media.

The ultimate objective has been to drive consumers to find a physical therapist near their location on the Move Forward website. As a campaign, move Forward increased visits to “Find a PT” by 44 percent over the previous year and is reach-ing consumers and making physical therapists more acces-sible than ever to the patients who need them. mhs

✒eMilio rouco is the director

of public relations at the American

Physical Therapy Association and

deboraH MyerS is executive vice

president of CrT/tanaka. They may be

reached at emiliorouco@apta.org and

dmyers@crt-tanaka.com, respectively.

ReseaRch indicates that, when consumeRs seek health infoRmation, the inteRnet is second only to a pRimaRy caRe physician.

F O R W A R D T H I N k I N G : APTA's Move Forward campaign included MoveForwardPT.com, which was designed to be a hub of connectivity for consumers considering and advocating for physical therapy.