Hospital Marketing Journal

A New Model for Success

Anyone working in the healthcare industry knows a new era is upon us. The challenges we're facing today revolve around critical decisions related to new mandates + how they’re (truly) going to affect how we promote health + deliver services. Effectively. Responsibly. As the industry evolves, Ten Adams has evolved right with it. To serve the changing needs of our clients, we have expanded our business model, incorporating operational refinement as an element of our integrated service offering. Here’s what that looks like — the primary elements that build the Ten Adams service portfolio: Marketing, advertising + communications continue to serve at the core of our business--the foundation of our work over the past 25 years. But, without a solid strategy, even the most dynamic marketing will fail to deliver maximum results. Marketing programs MUST drive business outcomes. We understand + appreciate the importance of service line + operational strategy as elements of an integrated solution that delivers maximum results for our hospital clients. We also understand that, at the end of the day, healthcare is a people business.  The importance of ensuring a relationship between a hospital’s brand + its culture can’t be overlooked. The people who deliver the care hold the power to make or break the brand — a fact which became very clear to us seven years ago when we expanded our business model to help hospitals bring their brand positioning to life within their culture, each and every day. Our newest point of emphasis — helping to ensure operating effectiveness — is a natural next step in our own evolution and one that is vital to our clients. Never has there been a more important time for hospitals to deliver at the highest level of operational effectiveness. This requires a delicate balancing act. Our experience helps reveal significant, practical opportunities to improve the efficiency of the organization specifically through frontline managers and employees — without compromising quality of care. We have expanded our team to include professionals with LEAN-certification and administrative, clinical + financial expertise to assist hospitals in optimizing operating results, while maintaining that crucial balance. Simply put, the integration of strategy, marketing, culture + operations has a direct impact on business performance + results. It strengthens competitive positioning + improves market leverage. And at Ten Adams, we’ve built our business model to create the strongest + most distinctive healthcare brand experience possible. A powerful brand experience is critical as we prepare healthcare organizations to lead the industry's transition from volume-driven to a value-focused model of improving health. Ten Adams invites you to be one of those leaders, as we take on the new era of healthcare together.

Advertising Webinar: 12/13 at 3pm EST

Healthcare advertising does not have to be bland or undifferentiated.  It does not have to translate to pictures of sick people, equipment or doctors. We’ve all been there… “Where’s the photo of the equipment?” “We are not showing the doctor.” “The logo isn’t big enough!”  “The patient doesn’t look sick enough.” …on and on and on. Sound familiar? If so, you may be in need of some serious help! If not, what we have found at Ten Adams is that a lot of healthcare advertising isn’t necessarily bad. It just does not stand out, causing consumers to pass over it. So, how do we stand out in a sea of sameness? Join Ten Adams for an hour long webinar on December 13th at 3 PM Eastern to discover how to: Reinforce the value of dynamic creative ideas while evolving your brand and brand architecture Use the right mix of media to get your message noticed Track results to know if marketing is working FEATURED SPEAKER: Kris Laufer, Vice President Creative, Ten Adams Kris joined the Ten Adams team in 1992, and has more than 25 years of creative experience in the advertising industry. The past 15-plus years have been focused solely on healthcare marketing. As Creative Director, Kris leads the award-winning creative team at Ten Adams’ in developing campaigns aligned with research and strategy. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to evolve a brand through good, solid creative ideas delivered with the right mix of media to get your message noticed. Space is limited. Register here to hold your spot.

Hot Topics from SHSMD

We had a great time at SHSMD this year mixing with all the brilliant healthcare minds in Philly. We reunited with old friends, made some new friends + filled our brains to the brim over many exciting healthcare discussions. So, what were the hot topics? Digital Marketing – Interesting factoid: only 6.2% of attendees tweeted using the hashtag #shsmd12. What does this mean? Well, for one, many healthcare marketers aren’t completely comfortable with Twitter. It appears that for those hospitals who are just dipping their toes in the social media waters, the place to start is with Facebook, rather than Twitter. In our own research we have found that the most coveted healthcare consumers are more likely to spend their time on Facebook than any other social media platform. But digital marketing is so much more than social media: web, mobile, email, content strategy, blogs… Healthcare marketers’ heads are understandably spinning with so many options to explore. Physician Engagement + Alignment – Among the current challenges of healthcare reform, the relationship between hospitals and physicians stands out as a key factor. Particularly, there is a strong need for hospitals to achieve physician engagement as a way to ensure a healthy bottom line. From cultural changes to the regulatory environment, from patient satisfaction to Medicare reimbursement, physicians are increasingly at the center of hospital viability. Patient Experience – Hospitals are taking a long hard look at their mission, business models, marketing strategy, brand and the needs of the community they serve. Already many hospitals are measuring and placing great importance on the concept of patient experience. A combination of increased consumer access to information, rising healthcare expectations, the importance patients place on “softer” things like bedside manner and empathy, as well as greater community awareness of the importance of wellness, means that hospitals are accountable as never before to those they serve. These are just a few of the hottest topics discussed by many at SHSMD 2012. What are the hot healthcare topics that you deal with on a daily basis?

Anatomy of a TV Shoot

How does an idea go from this: To this: Well, come along for a never-before-seen, mind-blowing look behind the scenes at a Ten Adams TV shoot, as we share a few lessons we learned along the way. Lesson #1: Film crews are notoriously awesome at making a scene (wink, wink) + disrupting traffic. Especially when 40 feet of banners are involved. Lesson #2: Helicopters are just as cool now as they were when we were seven. (Helicopters with remote cameras? Even cooler.) Lesson #3: Creative directors + associate creative directors evidently are not insured to climb suspension bridges with the rest of the crew. (Lesson #3 ½ — this makes them cranky.) Lesson #4: Shooting a movie theater scene? Foggers are a great little trick used to achieve that awesome projector beam. Lesson #5: But, foggers can malfunction. (And when they do, the only other way to get a little ‘atmosphere’ is to set a piece of toast on fire. A very smelly solution that has the added benefit of shooting to the soothing shriek of the smoke alarm). Lesson #6: This is Ray. Ray is from Germany. Ray worked on the set of the original Willa Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Ray invented a theatrical light that melted a street lamp on the set of one of the Batman movies. Ray owns a 400-acre tree farm in Costa Rica. Ray makes his own shampoo. Ray is the Most Interesting Man in the World. Lesson #7: How do you achieve that pretty flicker of light on the faces of talent in a movie theater shot? Like this (Sorry, I was too dang excited to remember to turn the phone horizontally. Also, note the lovely shrieking alarm we referenced earlier from the smoking toast): Lesson #8: Everything looks sexier through a lens. (Well, at least banners do.) Lesson #9: Another handy trick of the trade — if you’re shooting a street scene, ask your friendly local firemen to do a wetdown of the pavement. It makes for a way prettier shot. (Plus we like fire trucks almost as much as we like helicopters). Lesson #10: We learned from our fearless director, Norry, that each member of a film crew has a ‘uniform’. Just like us agency folks are always cloaked in black, this is the typical uniform of a member of the art department. (And there’s no better AD than Amy, trust us.) Lesson #11: It’s intensely gratifying to cross that red marker through a shot in the storyboard. Fin! Lesson #12: A green screen can (and will) appear just about anywhere Lesson #13: If someone asks if they can use your car in a commercial or movie, think it through — because this is probably what they intend to do with it: < Lesson #14: Art directing is way better from the backseat of a truck. Your own chauffer. Police escort. A monitor-on-a-stick. Oh. And walkie-talkies. 10-4, good buddy. Lesson #15: Yes, we require constant supervision. Lesson #16: For some reason, talent gets nervous sitting on a bicycle, rigged to a trailer, being pulled through rush-hour downtown traffic by a dude she’s never met. We don’t get it Lesson #17: Apparently, we’ve been riding bikes the wrong way most of our lives. Lesson #18: It is not a good idea to drive like this. Lesson #19: In case you haven’t learned this yet, cameramen love to rig things whenever possible. Lesson #20: No, this outfit is not available in stores. (So, the shroud is to help her see with special lenses she wears to control the helicopter’s camera. It takes two people to shoot with a helicam — one person to operate the copter, the other to operate the camera. But only one gets to wear the outfit.) Lesson #21: It’s way more fun to shoot before a live studio audience. And it feels good to be inside the yellow tape for a change (as long as it’s not crime scene tape.) Lesson #22: It hardly feels like work when you get to hang out with people who are as nice as they are talented. (But that’s a lesson us Ten Adams folks learned long ago).

Webinar: The Missing Link Between Strategy and Performance

Does your strategic plan look great on paper but fall short on execution? According to a recent Booz & Company survey of 1,800 organizational leaders, including more than 480 C-suite executives, leaders feel a high level of frustration associated with strategic execution. They indicated that devising strategy is less than half the battle, with effective execution of chosen core strategies posing a more significant challenge.  We all recognize that business leadership today is more difficult and demanding than it’s ever been before.  Effectiveness in today’s healthcare organization demands strong, insightful strategy.  But, more importantly, your organization must have the operational capabilities to effectively execute your strategy.  It is not the development of the strategic plan which stifles most healthcare leaders today.  Rather, it is their ability to foster, nurture, grow and leverage the right set of organizational capabilities--by that we mean the processes, tools, knowledge and skills necessary within the organization to effectively act upon a strong, focused results-orientation. This often unacknowledged shortcoming in strategic execution is suggested to be the “missing link” in the chain of leadership disciplines which connect a bold strategic vision to decisive performance in the marketplace. Join Ten Adams on Thursday, June 28 at 3pm EST to find out why 70% of business failures are not a result of bad strategy but rather bad execution.  In this 30 minute webinar, we will show you: Realities of Strategic Development in Today's Healthcare Environment The Value of Strategic Coherence The Importance of Capabilities-Driven Strategy How to Create a Strategy Map Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Execution Don’t miss this opportunity to take a deeper look at how the changing landscape of today's healthcare environment is affecting strategic development and learn how to identify the keys to success and the warning signs of failure in strategic execution.  Space is limited. Register here - to hold your spot.