February 11, 2011
Women turn to the internet for health information over family, friends or doctors. 
Women are uncomfortable discussing health concerns with other family members, friends, doctors or even spouses. And as a result they turn to the internet for information and answers. iVillage conducted an online poll for Harris Interactive, which revealed women’s dependence on the internet for health concerns.
Some of the results from the survey are:
- 82% of women are uncomfortable discussing health concerns with family and friends
- 62% are twice as likely to turn to the web over their own mothers about health issues
- 64% use online communities to discuss health concerns
- 49% stated that online would be the first place they would go to research health issues. More than twice the amount who would go to their doctor first (25%) or family (15%) or friends (6%).
- 30% gather information from online communities to prepare them for their doctor’s visit.
These results verify women’ s dependence on the web for health information. Healthcare marketers must recognize this and develop web strategies for communicating to women. Robust web sites, web advertising and the development of social networking sites are some of the tools that may be used to reach women. Even directing consumers to existing websites can be helpful in creating relationships and building strong brand perceptions.
Women are traditionally viewed as the primary influencer and decision maker in regards to their family’s health. As they increasingly turn to the web for valuable information, healthcare marketers must recognize it and create ways to meet them there.
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Hospital Advertising, Hospital Marketing, Internet | Tagged: Ad Agency Huntsville, Ad Agency Tuscaloosa, Advertising Agency Alabama, Advertising Agency South, Advertising Agency Southeast, Harris Interactive, healthcare marketing, Hospital Marketing, internet use by women, iVillage, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, Nancy Siniard | 
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Posted by Jimmy Warren
February 10, 2011
Baby Boomers who provide care for aging parents are heavier users of social media than boomers in general.
Baby boomers are embracing social media. Faster than any other segment. According to Pew Internet the number of 50-plus who use social networking sites grew 88% during the past year. Now practically half of the adults over 50 regularly use social media. In the more narrow 50-65 age group its almost three fourths. Healthcare marketers are learning that social media can be a very effective way of reaching and connecting with baby boomers.
But those boomers who are caregivers to aging parents are even more likely to embrace and use social media. Age Lessons partnering with Comscore found that approximately 15.5 million of the 78 million boomers are caregivers. They are split 60/40 female to male and the level of care ranges from daily phone check-ins to live-in help.
As reported by Matt Carmichael in Ad Age these boomer caregivers use social media an average of 150 minutes a month and view 70% more pages than average internet users. They are dependent on social networking sites for information because they have so little time for other types of socializing. Their free time is limited and they are often restricted by the demands of caring for their parent(s). It is often the easiest and fastest way to stay connected with family and friends. They also use social media to validate and reinforce their feelings by finding others in similar situations and communities that provide support and encouragement.
The study also found this group is more likely to use the internet to find information, conduct research and make purchases. The top sites for boomer caregivers are Facebook with a 91% reach, Amazon with 76% and Wal-Mart at 41%. Twitter has 21% reach.
These caregivers are important influencers and decision-makers for not only their own immediate family’s health concerns but also for their parents. This makes this group especially important to healthcare marketers.
Marketing to niches can be very effective. They are more easily identifiable and the message can be very focused. The use of social media, especially Facebook – whether in the form of a page or ad, can be extremely useful tools reaching this key demographic.
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Leave a Comment » | Hospital Advertising, Social Media | Tagged: Ad Age, Ad Agency Huntsville, Ad Agency Southeast, Ad Agency Tuscaloosa, Advertising Agency Alabama, Advertising Agency South, Age Lessons, boomers use of social media, Comscore, elderly use of social media, healthcare advertising, healthcare marketing, Hospital Advertising, Hospital Marketing, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, Matt Carmichael, Nancy Siniard, Pew Internet | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
January 30, 2011
After receiving resistance to their new logo, Gap went back to the old logo. Did they overreact? 
After undoubtedly a series of focus groups and extensive research, Gap decided it needed to change its logo. They wanted a more contemporary look that was current but yet honored its heritage. A tremendous amount of research and work went into developing the updated logo. So Gap introduced it’s new logo on it’s website. But four days later reversed the decision and returned to their original logo.
The change occurred because consumers took issue with the new mark and voiced their disapproval using various social networking sites. The reaction was strong and fervent. So four days later, Gap president Marka Hansen announced the logo change was being rescinded and the company was returning to the original logo.
Many people praised Gap for listening to its customers and paying attention to their concerns. And for responding rapidly and answering the consumers’ requests. It’s the way marketing works today. Consumers are in control. They voice their opinions and solicit others in the network to join the crusade. And a company is highly regarded for listening to consumers and responding to their concerns and wishes. Everything you read about marketing today would affirm that GAP did exactly as it should.
Maybe that’s true. But maybe not. Was all the research conducted by Gap about their logo just wrong? Was it bogus? Did the resistance merit abandoning the new logo? Were those complaining brand loyalists? Would those who resisted the change stop buying Gap clothing? Is it no longer strategically important to update the logo for the future?
A survey commissioned by AdAge and conducted by Ipsos Observer found that 80% of consumers had no idea the logo had changed. Is it possible to put too much emphasis on consumer social networking responses? Do consumers know what is best strategically for a company’s future success? Are consumers always right? What happens when Gap someday raises prices to remain economically feasible and they meet resistance in social media? Do they sacrifice the company’s financial health because some consumers express dissatisfaction?
This real life example raises questions about how much influence unsolicited consumers should have on your brand. I don’t have all the answers. I commend Gap for listening and responding to consumers. That’s the value of social media. But I also cringe somewhat because they caved to the wishes of a relatively small amount of consumers. I wonder why some opinionated consumers who didn’t like the new logo trumped all the research that had indicated an update was needed.
Healthcare marketers should listen to consumers. They should be responsive to consumer feedback and input. But should they forsake research findings and strategic planning for the wishes of a small percentage of customers? I know social media experts say we should respond quickly to consumer complaints but I would have liked to have known who the complainers actually were (consumers or non-consumers) and if they were consumers who would have stopped buying Gap products because of the logo change.
Social media is helpful and exciting. But should it hijack and derail strategic planning that’s based on solid research? It’s a serious dilemma and deserves further consideration and study.
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2 Comments | Hospital Marketing, Internet, Social Media | Tagged: Ad Age, Ad Agency, Advertising Agency Birmingham, Advertising Agency Huntsville, Advertising Agency South, Advertising Agency Southeast, Advertising Agency Tuscaloosa, Bad Publicity, customer complaints, Gap, healthcare advertising, Hospital Marketing, Ipsos Observer, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, Nancy Siniard, Overreacting to Complaints, patient complaints, Reacting to Social Media Complaints | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
November 16, 2010
Advertisers are finding that :15-second spots can be more effective.
Advertisers are going to the extremes. Long format video ads are very common.
They are being placed on the web and on popular sites like YouTube. The spots can range from one to five minutes and even longer on occasions. Longer videos are produced to provide increased entertainment value.
But the opposite is true too. Many advertisers are moving to :15 -second TV spots. According to Nielsen, the number of :15- second spots have increased 70% in the past year and now make up 34% of all national spots. In fact it’s not uncommon to see five spots in a minute and a half. There are two primary reasons for this shift.
The first is viewers’ attention spans are generally shorter than in the past. Digital video recorders and attention grabbers like laptops and smart phones have shortened viewers’ attentiveness There are too many distractions and too much competition for viewers’ attention that prevent longer periods of concentration.
The second reason for the movement to shorter spots is cost. A :15-second spot generally costs 50-60% of :30 second spots. Thus for essentially the same amount of money advertisers can increase their exposure by doubling the number of commercials, advertise an additional service line, or decrease the television spending altogether while maintaining adequate reach and frequency.
The message for hospital marketers is that :15-second commercials could be a very viable option. Of course not all messages can be effectively delivered in :15 seconds but if the message is simple and succinct, a shorter spot can be very effective. Plus when budgets are tight, a :15-second spot can certainly be effective in stretching the budget without significantly hurting exposure.
One possible negative factor to consider is with many local television stations the placement of a :15-second commercial can be limiting. Shorter time slots may not be available in some desired programs. The good news is there is shorter commercials are usually available in locally originated programming like local news.
Shorter television commercials can effectively fight against attention fatigue of viewers and stretch an already strained marketing budget. So less can really be more.
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Leave a Comment » | Hospital Advertising | Tagged: :15 Television Commercials, Advertising Agency in Huntsville AL, Advertising Agency in Tuscaloosa AL, Hospital Marketing, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, Nancy Siniard, Nielsen, Shorter Commercial Lenghts, Shorter Format Commercials | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
September 19, 2010
Your hospital’s recruitment efforts should be an extension of the hospital’s brand. It reflects the brand and should be consistent with the brand message and personality.
HR handles recruitment efforts. The marketing department handles external and internal branding. And far too often the two are totally disconnected. In many, if not most hospitals, the recruitment efforts and marketing efforts are managed in separate silos with little or no interaction. Marketing works hard to establish a strong brand and invests lots of money building brand equity. HR invests lots of money developing collateral materials and advertising trying to attract needed talent. And in most cases, looking at the two efforts, it appears as if they are coming from two totally different organizations.
Recruitment advertising for healthcare organizations generally looks and feels the same. There’s not a lot different from one hospital to another. In times when there are an abundance of qualified people looking for healthcare jobs, that was fine. It was easy to attract numerous applicants for the jobs available. But that’s not currently the case. For many healthcare job categories there are shortages. And there is extreme competition between healthcare organizations for a limited number of qualified personnel.
Thus, recruitment efforts should stand out, be noticeable and communicate a bigger message than just job openings signing bonuses. The recruitment efforts should reflect the hospital’s brand. These efforts should be consistent with the marketing efforts to create and strengthen its brand. Recruitment advertising should mirror the brand message, tone and manner. A synergy should be created between marketing and HR.
The consistency of the two will certainly enhance the hospital’s brand. It will reinforce the brand and drill the brand effort deeper. It will also allow the hospital’s recruitment efforts to stand out, reflect a personality and differentiate itself from the competition. And it will also set the tone for new employees because communication with them will be establishing the brand essence and personality even prior to employment.
The days of marketing doing their own thing building the brand and HR doing their thing entirely unaffected and separate should come to an end. The two should work together, consistently building an even stronger brand and thereby enhancing the efforts of both functions. It’s important to communicate the brand essence to all audiences and constituencies including those being recruited for future employment.
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1 Comment | Branding, Hospital Marketing, Hospital Recruitment | Tagged: Advertising Agencies in Alabama, Advertising Agencies in Tuscaloosa, advertising agencies that specialize in healthcare, advertising agencies that specialize in hospital marketing, Alabama, Branding, Hiring, HOspital Help Wanted, Hospital HR, Hospital Marketing, hospital recruitment, Huntsville, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, Nancy Siniard, Synergy between HR and Marketing, Tuscaloosa | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
August 11, 2010
Headlines are crucial in determining how effective an ad will be. Strong headlines can make an ad very powerful while weak ones can render the ad ineffective. 
First impressions are important. The impression someone gives you within the first 5-10 seconds will go a long way in determining if you are interested in that person or not. Those first few seconds will cause you to want to get to know that person better or not be interested at all. This may not be fair but it’s true. You may never get to know a very wonderful intriguing person because you were turned off in the first few seconds of your first encounter.
The same is true about headlines. Headlines are that first 5-10 seconds that will go a long way in determining if someone is interested in your message or not. There may be great copy points that could be very vital and/or interesting to the reader but if the headline doesn’t draw them in, they will never know.
The headline should state a consumer benefit very clearly and precisely or pique the reader’s interest enough to entice them to read more. The headline should always be written with the target audience clearly in mind. What would interest them? What do they care about? What is a problem they have that you can solve? The headline should have a clearly defined objective and speak to a specific target audience.
A recent article I read listed four approaches to uncovering the headline that will get immediate attention:
- How To. It promises information, advice or proven solutions.Other ways to use this approach include “Steps To” and Ways To”.
- Reasons Why. Provides reasons for doing something or believing something.
- Question. Used if the target audience has a particular question that your product or service can provide an answer for.
- Direct Benefit. Provides a strong benefit to the target audience.
All great headlines will not necessarily fit into these four categories. But this is a very good way to start thinking about headlines and what will resonate with the target audience. The headline is the key to ad effectiveness. If you don’t make a strong positive impression within the first few seconds, the consumer will move on to the next encounter. The headline must give the reader a reason to be interested and want to know more. A reason to stay and want to know more.
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4 Comments | Hospital Advertising | Tagged: Advertising Agencies in Alabama, Advertising Agencies in Tuscaloosa, advertising agencies that specialize in healthcare, advertising agencies that specialize in hospital marketing, Alabama, Effective Headlines, Hospital Marketing, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, Nancy Siniard, Tuscaloosa | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
February 26, 2010
The American Red Cross has raised over $25 million with their “Text for Haiti Relief” effort. 
You may think texting is just for the kids. We see teens and young adults texting all the time. It is their primary mode of communication. But make no mistake about it, texting is a powerful force - even among adults. The Red Cross’s use of texting to contribute $10 to the Haitian Relief Fund has raised over $25 million thus far. At $10 per text, that translates into 2.4 million texts.
So texting is not just for the kids. The effort by the Red Cross effort proves that people in very different demos utilize test messaging. And it proves texting can be very useful for more than just social communication. In this case texting has even become a powerful force in fund-raising. About 20% of all the funds raised for Haiti relief by the Red Cross have come from texting “Haiti” to 90999 to make a $10 contribution.
Just a year or so ago, who would have thought that $25 million could be raised from texting? Texting is becoming more mainstream and is showing its usefulness in marketing.
This is a wake up call to healthcare marketers that text is emerging as a significant and powerful tool. Just when we decide to dip our toes in social media like Facebook and Twitter, along comes texting. The Red Cross demonstrates the impact and power smart phones and texting are becoming. It can no longer be ignored.
We are just on the front end of the learning curve of what cellphones and smart phones can do. Marketers must pay attention, learn and explore creative uses for texting. $25 million dollars is a lot of money, especially in increments of $10. A whole new adventure is in front of us. There will be countless possibilities and opportunities to effectively use text messaging to achieve useful and worthwhile objectives. What power we hold in our hands!
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Leave a Comment » | Hospital Marketing, Internet, Social Media, Uncategorized | Tagged: Fundraising with Text Messages, healthcare marketing, Hospital Marketing, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, mobile marketing, Nancy Siniard, Text Message Marketing, TotalCom Marketing | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
February 24, 2010
Research indicates that up to 25% of web viewers click off of pre-roll video. Consumers do not want to watch a video before they can get to the information they want. 
A recent study by video analytics firm TubeMogel finds that nearly 16% of viewers click away from a pre-roll video ad rather than watch it before getting to the content they are seeking. And on newspaper and magazine sites, where interruptive advertising isn’t the norm, the percentage goes up to 25%, according to an article in Ad Age by Michael Learmonth.
Consumers just don’t want to want to watch a video before they can get to the information they are searching for. They consider it a nuisance and become annoyed by it. Yet the easiest thing for marketers to do is to place a: 30-second TV spot on the web. It’s already produced, it’s available, and it’s easy. But they may be doing more harm than good. Annoying the consumer may be what you’re doing.
“Consumers have so many choices that 16% are going to leave your content just because you put an ad in front of it,” stated Brett Wilson, CEO of the video analytics firm. “That’s a big paradigm shift – people don’t have to watch your ad”
Learmonth also cited research by YuMe that shows a completion rate of only 61% for 30-second video ads on the web. So clearly, using TV spots or videos as an ad, like a pop-up screen, is not highly effective. Most people go online to gather information and do not want to have to watch an unrequested video ad before they can get to the content they are seeking.
Web advertising requires it’s own unique strategy and approach. While the brand must be consistent across all mediums, it’s not effective to just take traditional media and stick it on the web. The audience expectations and tolerance levels are entirely different. When you turn on your online video ad, you may just be turning off the consumer.
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8 Comments | Hospital Advertising, Internet, Marketing Ideas | Tagged: Ad Age, Advertising Age, effectiveness of video preroll, Hospital Marketing, hospital tv commercial, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, Michael Learmonth, Nancy Siniard, pre-roll, TotalCom Marketing, Tubemogul, tv ad as preroll, tv commercials as pre rolls, video analytics, video preroll, web advertising strategy, YuMe | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
January 12, 2010
The future demands that marketing become more personal with a stronger emphasis on customer relations.
For years marketing has been about pushing, promoting products and services and brands. It’s been about marketers controlling the conversation and the media to communicate its desired message. But that has changed. Changed dramatically. As we enter a new decade, the emphasis of marketing is entirely different.
Now marketing is about being personal. It’s more one-on-one marketing. And it’s about managing customer relationships. Consumers now have a much greater role in controlling the marketplace. Consumers determine what messages they receive, when they receive them and how they receive them. It’s no longer about flooding the airwaves with the message marketers want the consumers to hear and see. It’s now more about relationships and interaction. It’s about making connections, nurturing and growing those relationships to build long-term loyalty.
Fundamentally, marketing is about building brands and establishing brand value. In the not too distant past, branding took a back seat to promotion and price. That was shortsighted and diminished some brands to nothing more than the latest promotion and price comparison. Fortunately, we have learned our lessons and now know that branding, brand perception and brand relationships are extremely important.
This is certainly true with healthcare and hospital marketing. In the past, healthcare marketers could just advertise or promote a new product or service and expect the local constituents to be loyal. But like most other industries, in healthcare there is increased competition, new pressures to grow market share while consumers want more control and expect a higher level of attention and customer service.
Healthcare marketers can no longer take customers for granted. Strong customer relations, customer-focused relationships, and meaningful interactions are now vitally important. To build a healthy brand, marketers must have keen consumer insights, effectively interact with consumers and be consistently accountable. The new decade presents new challenges, a new way of doing marketing. But with those challenges come great opportunities. There will be great rewards to those who understand the new marketplace and who reshape their brand to meaningfully and personally interact with consumers in new and expanding venues.
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1 Comment | Branding, Hospital Advertising, Hospital Marketing | Tagged: Branding, customer relations, future of marketing, Hospital Marketing, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, marketing conversation, Nancy Siniard | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
January 11, 2010
Relying on niche marketing may cost you the opportunity to reach a new audience and grow your brand. 
Mass marketing is becoming more difficult due to fragmented media. Mass marketing often means paying for wasted exposure…exposure that is not effective for your brand. And mass marketing can be more costly. So the current trend is to niche market. To narrowly target audiences. To allocate time and resources to reach a narrowly defined audience of current or highly potential audience. And there are valid arguments for such a marketing approach.
However, there is a significant downside. You may be missing the opportunity to develop new customers and new markets. Advertising has the ability to expose consumers to new ideas, new options and choices. Consumers may never know they would want to try a product or service without advertising that exposes the consumer to that product or service. Consumers may not know they have choices without exposure to advertising.
One of the great attributes of advertising in a free enterprise system is its ability to create a mass market by creating awareness for the product or service. In an interview in Forbes of Susan Credle, U.S. chief office of Publicis Leo Burnett, Chicago, Credle states it very well, “Unlike a lot of people who claim advertising pushes products on people, I’ve always believed advertising exposes people to choices. Advertising might show me something that I’d never thought about before, something that might make a difference in my life. And on the business side, brands might find people they never knew would love them. When I was in high school I saw a Chanel spot shot by Ridley Scott: Share the Fantasy. Was I the target? Absolutely not. Did I go out and buy Chanel No. 5? Yes. And do I still buy Chanel products today? Yes. All because of an ad I never would have seen if they were narrowly targeting”.
Niche marketing has it advantages. But so does mass marketing. To solely rely on niche or narrow marketing, you could be missing the opportunity to attract new customers and create new markets. It could limit your customer base to a niche and never reach a potentially strong and profitable market.
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Leave a Comment » | Hospital Advertising, Hospital Marketing | Tagged: Chanel No. 5, Forbes, healthcare marketing, Hospital Marketing, Jimmy Warren, Lori Moore, mass marketing, mass media, Nancy Siniard, niche marketing, Publicis Leo Burnett, Ridley Scott, Susan Credle, target marketing | Permalink
Posted by Jimmy Warren
