Case Study:
Southwest Health Center
Situation:
In March, 2005, Southwest Health Center moved into a brand new, state-of-the-art facility. This new building completely revitalized the way Southwest Health Center was able to treat patients. Their brand identity, however, remained fragmented and undefined, represented by a patchwork of printed collateral, outdoor creatives, and TV/radio ads. In addition, key messaging about the new facilities benefits to the community was not getting out.
Action:
Visuality worked with Southwest Health Center to define a signature visual style for print collateral, newspaper advertising, 
and outdoor. We also aligned the marketing and public relations plan to support overall strategic goals. We supported overall branding with TV and radio ads, along with select outdoor, and used newspaper ads to build awareness about services, technologies, new doctors, and specific programs like diabetes health. Messaging focused on success stories, caring physicians and staff, and Southwest Health Center's identity as a member of the community.
We rationalized TV, radio, print, and outdoor buying to support demographic and geographic targets identified in the marketing plan, aggressively negotiating with vendors along the way. We developed internal materials to explain the marketing and messaging strategies to internal stakeholders. And we completely modernized and revamped the public web site, bringing secure online forms for pre-registration and bill payments, as well as a full-featured content management system.
We continue to work with Southwest Health Center to keep the brand and messaging front and center, while at the same time bringing fresh creatives to the table to support diverse target audiences like students at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, as well as specific targeted service-line "packages" that speak to groups of potential patients from a continuum-of-care point of view.
Results:
Southwest Health Center continues to score very high on patient surveys, and name recognition is very high and very positive. Community members respond very positively to seeing one of their own on TV ads, and featuring physicians in ads has helped strengthen relationships between the hospital and associated clinics.
Southwest Health Center recently earned the American Alliance of Healthcare Providers (AAHCP) Hospital of Choice award, based in part on the integrity and usefulness of their marketing and communications efforts.
