Hospital Marketing Journal

Doctors are Different

by Scott Mosley Attending the 4th Annual Becker’s Hospital Review Meeting in Chicago, I had the opportunity to hear Jeff Leland, CEO of Blue Chip Surgical Center Partners, speak under the title “Doctors are Different.” This is obviously a fact, freely acknowledged by anyone who works in healthcare. However, I was intrigued by the way Jeff framed his message. Crediting Dr. Joseph Bujak, author of Inside the Physician Mind, as the source of some of his points, Jeff Leland made the following observations about how doctors think. First, they are very decisive. This is ingrained in them during med school, along with self-reliance, independence and courage. Jeff framed the latter attribute as the courage to wade into battle armed with knowledge and empirical data. Physicians boldly go where most fear to tread, if they have the facts. Or if they believe that they do. Jeff equated a physician’s idea of teamwork to the game of golf vs. rugby. Both sports have been reinstated to the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the similarities stop there. There are many people involved in orchestrating a golf tournament, but the game of golf ultimately pits one individual’s skill and knowledge of the art against the elements faced on any given day. Rugby, well… doesn’t. Jeff also compared the physician’s orientation to parenting children vs. teenagers. Children listen. They mind. They respect their elders. Teenagers do none of these things. Borrowing from Dr. Bujak, Jeff suggested that typical physician behavior is reflected in the Peter Faulk’s TV character, Columbo. The disheveled-looking LA homicide detective is consistently underestimated by his suspects. But, his intellect, insights, experience and powers of perception always give him the upper hand in the end. Physicians are pattern-seekers. They readily recognize relationships between a set of circumstances and the outcome of those circumstances. Physicians have very keen skills of observation. They see things others miss and compartmentalize observations for retrieval. Physicians form bonds in the trenches, in the heat of battles shared with small groups of colleagues. The common thread is trust. The trust of a physician is often hard to come by, but once earned, there are few more valuable commodities on earth.

Ten Adams Family Fun Day

Making time for family + friends plays a huge role in anyone’s happiness, but as we all know, striking the balance between work + play can be extra challenging in the modern day workplace. So, Ten Adams decided to host an event — a family fun day — to help us all relax + have some fun together. As you might imagine, children of all ages were involved. So we were faced with the task of entertaining both for the young + young-at-heart. And, we were lucky enough to discover that the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville (cMoe) was just the fit for that! cMoe offers galleries + dynamic exhibits, all designed to spark the curious minds + imaginations of children and their families. With its colorful + unique interior, it offered Ten Adams the perfect backdrop for our Family Fun Day event. The event was a great success, with many fun-filled + action-packed events for all to enjoy. For the youngest, we had coloring, crafts + games. And if that didn’t do the trick, then chasing one another around the large camp room did. The activities were a huge hit, providing plenty of amusement while a corn hole tournament and brain toss kept everyone else entertained. After all of the fun, we were able to roam the museum + explore the exhibits with our families. Ten Adams saw this event as an opportunity to unify not just those who make up the Ten Adams family, but also our support team at home, because we know, our best work starts there. How does your company encourage a work/life balance?

Wellness at Witham

Here’s to health (and wealth) in 2013! One of our special long-term clients — Witham Health Services — made us proud by making a commitment to improving the overall health of their community. To start tackling this goal, Witham is providing monthly health screenings, seminars and events; each month focusing on a different health related topic. And, then, they handed the reins to us — looking to Ten Adams to spread the word + share the wellness love. We came back with a fun branded look to use for any + all wellness-related messages throughout the year. That’s where our “Well Hello” came in. “Well Hello” is a symbol — a signal to consumers to keep their eyes + ears open for a wellness opportunity from Witham. We used Witham’s signature bright colors — healthy, lively + full of energy. Print ads were designed to include a simple monthly header, demonstrating the consistency + frequency of the messaging (and the depth of Witham’s commitment). We also used Witham’s hallmark blue block from their logo to promote “Stay Well” — another visual cue to a Witham wellness message. The wellness messaging kicked off with a simple brand ad that shared Witham’s commitment to keeping the community well, introducing just what it means to get a “Well Hello” from Witham. It was quickly followed up by the first screening event ad for January followed by February. We’re moving into March + April’s messaging, ready to start bringing this feel-good initiative to life!

Ring in the New Year — Ten Adams Style

While most New Year’s resolutions revolve around diets and exercise, Ten Adams has kept its goals for the upcoming year on the less conventional side. And to shake things up even more, the creative team here at Ten Adams has been hustling and bustling to put together a fun video showcasing these goals.     Ten Adams has also made a resolution to help those in need. So, this holiday season, Ten Adams is taking a moment to recognize our blessings and support an initiative that has been near and dear to the hearts of the Ten Adams family — Lifesong for Orphans' — Both Hands initiative. This initiative helps families adopting orphans internationally with the incredible expense of the adoption process — while, simultaneously, serving widows through home improvement projects. With over 163 million orphans in the world today, we encourage everyone to donate to this cause, helping to put children back into families and on the road to success and recovery. To contribute to Both Hands Foundation, please visit www.bothhandsfoundation.org. We wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and all the best in 2013!

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.