Sion Research Associates, Inc.

Branding: Do Hospitals Promote Their Best Message?

Branding

Research can help ensure that hospitals are promoting their strongest message.

Every hospital has a brand, i.e., its vision or mission. A hospital's brand image is its actual value and incorporates its strengths, weaknesses and the qualities that differentiate it from its competitors. A hospital's brand image isn't what management says it is, but what its employees and outside medical practitioners say it is. Hospitals using qualitative research can compare their brand image within the context of their competitors. Even if they do not work at particular hospitals, medical practitioners- like consumers- have impressions of them. Consequently, testing advertising messages is important if a hospital is trying to recruit people who are unfamiliar with an area or haven't been exposed to the hospital's message.

Hospitals need to identify what the “target group” believes the hospital stands for, whether it is its high-profile doctors, training programs, specialty departments, etc.

Case Studies

An advertising message needs to be placed in the context of the hospital's brand.

Hospitals need to ask:

• Is the ad “in sync” with the audiences' pre-existing beliefs and values?
• Are they promoting something the audience believes is true?
• Does the ad connect on an emotional level?

As a researcher who has conducted qualitative research for over 25 years, I have seen how research helps hospitals develop and modify recruitment advertising messages to better target their audiences, which change over time.

One major hospital prided itself on its large size and liked to boast about that in its advertising. In discussing its image and advertising with nurses from competing area hospitals, however, management was surprised to learn that the size was actually a detractor. Nurses envisioned walking endlessly along its hallways and traveling up and down floors for ancillary functions.

Another hospital with impressive architecture understandably presented its exquisite grounds prominently in its advertising. Prospective nurses expressed concern about the hospital's corporate culture, believing that showcasing the architecture in its advertising meant management placed more value on its buildings than its people.

A hospital in an outlying suburban area knew it couldn't recruit from its nearest large city so it decided to target retired nurses in its area. In this case, research was conducted with nurses from the hospital to learn what they thought their hospital's appealing features were. Nurses said their hospital's key selling points were more than the usual number of aides on the nurses' floors, healthy food readily available on the night shifts, personalized work schedules and lift teams.

Concept Testing

Ideally, concept testing should be considered prior to developing advertising. One-on-one interviews are often used in this phase. Concept testing involves “messages” - ideas that might have traction for later development, not actual advertising boards or prototypes:

• Concept statements should be short and concise and communicate a single benefit or positive point about the hospital.
• Concept testing helps determine which ideas are worth pursuing and where to refine the idea afterward.

Ad Testing

While qualitative research should never be used in place of quantitative research, it is worth considering when trying to understand the emotional engagement of the audience with your message.

When testing print advertising, clients should key in on the way respondents relate to both the words and the pictures:

• Do they connect with the ad emotionally?
• Does the picture match the words?
• Does the ad match their vision of the hospital's brand?

Since respondents don't speak equally, a moderator may ask each to write down their comments about the ads prior to the group discussion. Although hospitals typically test their print advertising, other types of media could also be examined in focus groups.

Qualitative medical recruitment research is expensive and geographically challenging. It is expensive because incentives alone, particularly for medical practitioners, e.g., nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, etc. can run upward of $150 or $200 per respondent. Furthermore, recruiting respondents for focus groups or individual interviews (IDIs) is difficult because researchers typically select from a specific geographic area.

Fresh Insights

For hospitals looking to hire medical professionals with different areas of specialty, one size doesn't necessarily fit all.

• Brand image and the recruitment message could vary for each segment, so research should be targeted.
• Research conducted years ago is immaterial; images change and so does the environment.

The foray into research can be both exciting and eye-opening. It can provide greater insight into your brand and help hospitals develop advertising that will achieve optimum results. Hospitals using this methodology for the first time should it a benchmark that can be revisited from time to time.