Thompson
Cancer Survival Center attracts patients from all over the world,
but has to fight for share in its own market. Like many leading-edge
healthcare facilities, Thompson once relied on its outstanding
quality of care to attract physician referrals and self-refer
patients. And like many other leading-edge facilities which
relied on quality alone to drive patient revenue, Thompson was
experiencing shortfalls.
Not surprising, since their primary market preference
was a dismal 6%.
A BrainPosse member developed a communication plan and
campaign that changed Thompson's preference number
dramatically. And quickly.
The plan called for positioning Thompson as a
world-class facility. Never "best in this area," but
rather "one of the world's best." Creative focused on
treatments and technologies which were available
exclusively at Thompson or at Thompson and perhaps six
to ten other facilities in the world. The idea was that
if we convinced physicians and the public that Thompson
was on of the world's best facilities they would
automatically assume it was the best in town.
A television and newspaper campaign focused on Thompson
"firsts." As expected, the campaign more than doubled
Thompson's consumer preference to 14% in the first year.
There was also an unexpected benefit: Before
the campaign was launched, everyone assumed that
all referring physicians in the service area were aware
of Thompson's capabilities. But as ads appeared, calls
from physicians came in to inquire about the featured
capabilities.
The campaign has gone from strength to strength over the
last seven years. Physician direct mail has been added
as an important component of the effort. Consumer
preference recently reached 49%, a more than 800%
increase over the level before the campaign began.
The business results have been impressive. In one
measured service line the campaign delivered a 132%
return on investment after deducting the incremental
cost of care and the marketing communications expense.
