People love to buy things: gadgets, clothes, shoes, and pretty much anything that’s available on the market. Often, this is even how people decide on a hospital or a particular medical procedure. One of our biggest problems is that we have too many choices when it comes to buying things.

Points to note that lead to successful advertising for your hospital.

Something people don’t love is to be sold things. We hate it when someone tries to push us into buying their product, by either cold calling us trying to make a sale, or by striking up a conversation on the sales floor about what we might be interested in.

At times, it even may get to the point where we may physically wave our hands at computer monitor to shoo away pop-up ads (it can’t just be me who does this, can it?).

Basically, we hate some forms of advertising, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting things.

So here are some things to think about when you’re creating ads for your hospital organization’s products and services:

• People like to be informed consumers. Tell your consumers about what you can offer them, instead of focusing on how great it is. Why is your medical facility special? Does it offer a particular procedure? Do you offer a special service that can’t be found at other places? If you have a cancer facility that offers both individual and group therapy, your potential patients might choose you because of that.

• Think about what problem your product or service solves and expound on that. Explain the problem, and then explain your solution to it. This is especially important in medical and technical fields. People in these fields really only look for products when they need a solution to an issue they’re having.

• If you constantly offer a 25% discount, people are going to start thinking that you were overcharging to begin with and you knew it. It’s fine to run specials, but if your special never ends, it might not be that special after all. I’ve found a lot of healthcare facilities will offer something like a 10% discount for a non-essential skin treatment, but when that discount is actually the regular price, it sounds a little disingenuous.

• Make sure your content isn’t redundant. I have a bottle of mouthwash that has 4 bullet points on the front that tell me why it’s the greatest mouthwash ever to wash a mouth. But 3 of those points talk about whitening my teeth. Look at your content, and consider rewriting it if it seems like you’ve said one thing several different ways.

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QR codes, or quick response codes, seem to be the latest “craze” for marketers, businesses and organizations. Lately, I’ve seen them everywhere, from fashion magazines, to Guitar Center print ads to televised sporting events (during Summer X Games 17), to hospitals.

Check out this QR code I generated for a mobile site we designed for one of our clients!

Yes, hospitals.

While hospitals are usually on the slow end of embracing the “latest” technology and/or trend, more and more are incorporating mobile strategy into their marketing plan, and even using QR codes.

Scratching the Surface: QR Code Benefits

Simply to scratch the surface of the many benefits of implementing a QR code campaign into your hospital’s mobile strategy, here are a few reasons that stick out:

• Instant information for users

• Consumer to company interaction

• Easy to include in all marketing materials

• Relatively inexpensive in terms of advertising dollars

QR Code Best Practices for Hospitals

If your hospital is thinking about creating a QR code campaign, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

• Mobile Optimized Landing Page – Nearly 100% of QR codes are scanned by a mobile device, so if you send users to a URL or landing page on your hospital’s Website, make sure it is optimized for mobile devices. Do this so users can easily navigate through your site (if they want, and you definitely want them to). Don’t have a mobile site for your hospital? What are you waiting for? Contact AVID Design and we can start developing a mobile site for your hospital today!

• Value Exchange With the User – Give users something interesting and useful, like rich media or a video of your hospital’s new maternity wing, maps/directions of direct locations from your hospital’s directory, or even offer a discount to something in conjunction with a 3rd party affiliated with your healthcare organization. Be creative!

• Placement – Place the QR code where it is easily accessible for the user (i.e. not a billboard off the highway). Better examples include in health (e-)newsletters, direct hospital mail pieces, etc.

• Test- Perhaps one of the most important! Test in several mobile phone platforms, as well as with bar code scanning apps. This is the best way to spot problems.

• Track – As with any kind of Web strategy or communication effort, set up in your analytics, such as in Google Analytics, and track user engagement. See how many users “hit” your page, see if they go anywhere else.

• Short URL – Use a shorter URL rather than a longer one to keep the code smaller. The longer the URL, the larger the code. Try using goo.gl or bit.ly to shorten it.

Check out how some hospitals are using QR codes and other tips:

• QR Codes Gaining Popularity

• Hospital Enhances Print Ads with Barcode Technology

Do you have any QR code best practices to add?  Is your hospital currently using QR codes within their mobile strategy?

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Having a strong brand, or identity, for your hospital (or any business for that matter) is extremely important. One of the most valuable facets of a strong brand is your logo.

Many times people recall visual images and associate a brand with an image (e.g. Nike’s swoosh or the Apple logo), so having a recognizable logo that communicates who your hospital is and impacts your audience, will allow you to stand out amongst your competitors—which is a pretty crucial factor in today’s economy.

Just like your hospital Web site is a marketing tool, your logo is a business tool, and if created with the right elements, your hospital’s visibility and creditability may all improve.

Here are some characteristics to keep in mind when designing an effective logo for your hospital:

• Black and White: Logos should translate well in both black and white because of how it will be displayed in all mediums (Web, print, fax, photocopies), as well as allow for those color blind to view it.

• Clean and Clear: Fit all elements of the logo together to form one, clean and concise unit, rather than have an overload of elements jumbling up the design.

• Memorable: Make your hospital’s logo stick out so once your audience sees it they remember it, for when they need your services.

• Meaningful: Represent and incorporate what your mission is while spreading the word of what your hospital stands for.

• Scalability: Logos must look good and be easily read at every size, from business cards to commercial spots to billboards. Your hospital’s logo must be easily resizable if need be.

• Timelessness: Have a fresh, relevant design that won’t go out of style.

• Unique and Original: Distinguish yourself from other hospitals in the community with a design and color choices that reflect your hospital’s individually, so it’s best to stray away from clip art or stock images.

What does your logo say about your hospital’s brand? Do you have any design tips for creating an effective hospital logo?

Did you know that in addition to being a leader in hospital Web site design and development, AVID Design also creates logos for hospitals or healthcare systems that demand attention, identify with your brand and stick out amongst the crowd? Contact us to learn more about our award-winning design services.

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No one was perhaps more excited than I was the other night when I heard the news that leaked about Motley Crue and Poison co-headlining a summer tour (along with the New York Dolls)—arguably the biggest (and hottest) concert for 2011. The tour, thus far, dubbed as Glam-A-Geddon, will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Crue, the 25th anniversary of Poison and the 40th anniversary of the New York Dolls.

Poison on the left, Motley Crue on the right.

With rumors circulating late last year about a potential tour between these two hugely popular bands from the 80s through portions of the 90s, (between both bands they’ve sold over a combined 100 million records with 24 top 40 hits) and the public dispel of these rumors by certain members of Motley Crue (about touring with a “fake” pop-glam band (Poison) that they never had a decent relationship with even though they share the same reasons for doing what they love), I never thought it would happen.

I am happy to say that I was wrong.

The idea of this…two huge, influential and significant bands, who came out around the same time, sharing the same love and passion, but having a divided relationship (consisting of spats throughout the years) and vowing to never tour together, sort of reminded me about a feature story we wrote for our October 2010 eNewsletter entitled, “Overcoming the Healthcare Marketer and Hospital Foundation Disconnect.”

It’s somewhat similar in the sense of the integrated relationship of your hospital’s marketing department and your hospital’s foundation. Both of these departments share similar responsibilities of frequently and effectively communicating messages to promote brand awareness and calls-to-action within their communities. If these two departments synthesize their efforts, the connection could produce some real advantages for their hospitals…or in the case of Glam-A-Geddon, it could end up being a concert of epic proportions benefiting themselves (marketing and foundation departments), their business (hospital) and their fans (patients and the community).

So, this “similarity” might be a stretch, but it gave me a good reason to promote AVID Insight, our eNewsletter, and some of our past feature stories, as well as blog about the bands I love and respect.

Read the full feature story here about how to overcome the healthcare marketer and hospital foundation disconnect.

Are you an AVID Insight eNewsletter subscriber? Sign up today to receive advice on healthcare strategy, info on trends in healthcare marketing and healthcare seminar announcements.

AVID Design is a leader in hospital Website design and development. Contact us today and let us design your Website to make it go from dull to glam!

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Aside from everyone talking about Lady Gaga’s unusual performance Sunday night at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards and Christina Aguilera taking a slight tumble during an Aretha Franklin tribute, the big shocker of the night was the group Arcade Fire nabbing Album of the Year, prompting many folks to ask “Who is Arcade Fire?” (me being one of them).

Who is Arcade Fire? Well, they are 2011 Grammy winners for Album of the Year.

Yeah, I’ve heard the name before, but knew nothing about the band…that is until I Googled them and realized that many people were wondering the same thing. This got me thinking…how much do people know about your hospital?

Who Are You—Who Who Who Who?

Your community may know your hospital’s name and where you are located, (and in the case of Arcade Fire, if you are from Canada and/or an indie rock music fan you may know them) but do they really know about your comprehensive services, cutting-edge technology, experienced staff of doctors or why you are a leading healthcare provider within your community?

There are several things you can do so your hospital is recognized in the community, from sponsored blood drives, to health fairs to charitable events to PSAs. But perhaps the most significant thing your hospital can do is evaluate (or re-evaluate) your marketing efforts and develop an innovative and creative branding campaign that encompasses these things, plus many more. Even if you already have a hospital brand and an image, you can always refresh it to reposition it.

Cuz I Really Wanna Know

Develop a brand strategy that sets you apart from other healthcare organizations and think about what makes your organization unique to give you an advantage over others. Sure, analyzing your marketing efforts and developing a branding campaign for your hospital can be difficult, and there are several facets to it, but with the right strategy, you’ll be getting recognition and more people will be talking about your hospital rather than asking about your hospital.

Do people know your hospital’s name but nothing about you from your marketing efforts? When was the last time you took a look at your marketing efforts and re-evaluated them? Are you doing all you can?

AVID Design specializes in brand analysis and brand strategy development, and can provide integrated marketing strategies as solutions to reach your marketing goals.

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