NorthShore University
HealthSystem
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Client Category
Healthcare
Project Type
Brand Development, Advertising
How do you evolve a regional healthcare network and earn 60M impressions?
NorthShore is an integrated healthcare system serving patients throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. It includes 4 hospitals, 70 medical group offices and more than 800 primary and speciality care physicians.
Brand Consistency
The NorthShore brand was in desperate need of a refresh and needed to function more effectively. I began by researching what was working and then reestablished the fundamental components of the system leading initiatives including redeveloping the brand guidelines, building a substantial photography library of original imagery, and establishing a more consistent voice.
Brand Evolution
Once the components of the brand were clearly defined, a refresh of consumer marketing and advertising was next. This was a huge task that included a look at every aspect of brand communications. The first step included conducting in-depth research to understand current brand equity (i.e. patient experience) and gather key insights on the believability of evolving the brand within a hyper-competitive market.
I led the development of integrated campaigns and advised on marketing plans for brand and primary services lines, including cancer care, primary care and orthopedics. Campaigns included a broad range of channels and tactics, including broadcast, digital, OOH, direct and experiential.
Broadcast
Qualitative and quantitative research against multiple broadcast concepts was conducted before landing on a simplified version of what they had been doing previously. This involved evolving the existing direction (i.e. stripping it down) to focus more on patients and their experience with the brand.
I led the creation of multiple spots and campaigns using this format over the course of three years. This included directing some of the later spots for services lines.
Driving Traffic
Brand evolution initiatives looked for opportunities to target consumers and to deliver the brand in fun and interesting ways without spending a lot of dollars on production or media. Unconventional strategies included: establishing sports sponsorships and co-branding campaigns with the Chicago Bears and Chicago Blackhawks, mini-campaigns that ran on TV screens at the checkout areas of grocery stores and humorous ads for primary care services that leveraged the evolved broadcast construct. They ran in unconventional locations like movie theaters and websites normally not associated with healthcare advertising.
Mayo Clinic Partnership
NorthShore needed a bold campaign to announce its new partnership with Mayo Clinic. We worked closely with both brands and developed a campaign and marketing plan that targeted consumers in high traffic areas, like transportation hubs.
A bold plus sign was used to communicate the benefits of the partnership, along side emotional and practical messaging points that conveyed how the relationship adds value and enhances the patient experience.
Brand Revolution
For years, the brand owned the patient experience. Research told us that in-order to compete in the market, the clinical expertise needed to be elevated. This was not a evolution, but a revolution for the brand. Various directions were tested and vetted and ways to balance patience experience with clinical expertise were explored.
The Campaign
The final outcome was a bold new direction, Healthcare for What’s Next. The platform gave the brand permission to express how they are excelling on the forefront of patient care.
The initial broadcast launch earned 60M impressions within a seven-week time period.
