Dot Com Campaign

Challenge

As healthcare costs continue to spiral upward, client Preferred Health Systems (PHS) tasked Associated with increasing awareness of the many ways individuals can impact healthcare costs among consumers in the greater Wichita area, where the company′s health plan is most widely used. In addition, PHS wanted to offer specific methods that would allow consumers to affect positive changes in the cost of their healthcare and position Preferred Health Systems as an innovator in the battle against rising costs.

Key Insight

Research revealed that more than 80 percent of target consumers desired to live and eat more healthfully, yet only about 20 percent were taking active steps toward living a healthier lifestyle.

Strategy

Understanding that consumers were weary of healthcare issues and costs in general, Associated chose to embrace a more innovative and engaging strategy in messaging to Wichita-area residents.

To remind consumers how simple it is to make healthier choices and reinforce the idea that healthier lifestyles translate into less utilization of costly healthcare services, Associated developed more than 100 unique and intriguing outdoor and print media messages to drive consumers to topic-specific Internet microsites designed to motivate healthier living. Messaging consisted only of simple, yet provocative, website URLs such as realgolferswalk.com and breakupwithyoursofa.com (focusing on exercise), ihatebroccoli.com (nutrition), feversdonthaveofficehours.com (late-night emergencies) and more. Noticeably absent from all outdoor executions was the PHS logo – an absence which made consumers even more curious as to the nature of these unique web destinations.

A separate print-focused arm of the campaign, targeted to employers, included such messages as ihatesurprises.com (which dealt with surprise year-end rate increases) and iwannabepopular.com (targeted at often-maligned HR staff), positioning PHS as a resource and advocate for its customers.

Results

Consumers amused and intrigued by the outdoor and print messages visited the campaign microsites more than 250,000 times during the first eight weeks. In addition:

• More than 62 percent of these visitors linked to at least one other site, and 46 percent to two or more.
• The campaign drew national attention, with articles in several trade and consumer magazines praising PHS′ unique approach to consumer education.

“Grassterpiece” Consumer/Farm Promotion

Challenge

While the consumer/farm market represents a vital channel for the sale of Grasshopper True ZeroTurn mowers, the cost of lead generation has traditionally been high. Grasshopper charged Associated with increasing the number of leads received — while maintaining or reducing the cost per lead.

Key Insight

Consumers/farmers who comprise Grasshopper′s primary target market take great pride in the appearance of their properties and rank the results and quality of cut their equipment delivers as a primary driver in their purchasing decisions.

Strategy

Partnering with Meredith Publishing, a leading publisher in consumer/farm publications (Successful Farming and Living the Country Life), Associated developed a strategy that appealed to the pride of ownership rural consumers and farmers take in their properties. An online-focused sweepstakes allowed potential customers the opportunity to create a “Grassterpiece” on their own property by entering to win a free Grasshopper MidMount mower. The promotion showcased the mower′s timesaving performance and superior quality of cut, and targeted consumer/farm prospects prior to the mowing season to generate interest at the very time they were beginning to consider their equipment needs for the coming year.

The three-month promotion launched on January 1 and ended on March 31, and utilized both print and digital media. Social media outreach through sponsoring publications and Grasshopper′s own social media venues supported the promotion, as well as dealer-based materials designed to alert consumers to the giveaway and drive traffic to the promotional website. All entrants were required to share contact and application profile information with Grasshopper and its dealer network to qualify.

Results

Exceeding all projections, the “Grassterpiece” promotion provided more than 14.5 million impressions and generated 23,490 qualified leads (an average of 261 per day) which included contact information, equipment preferences, pressing concerns and purchase intent. Average click-through rate for the sweepstake′s digital media exceeded 4.76%, compared to an industry average of 0.35%. As a result, Grasshopper′s cost per lead was reduced by more than 46%. In addition, public relations efforts following the promotion provided a secondary opportunity to showcase the sweepstakes winner and syndicate that consumer′s positive impressions of the mower through traditional and social media channels.

Direct Mail Campaign

Challenge

Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, an operator of 17 retirement communities offering diverse levels of care ranging from independent living and assisted living to skilled nursing and memory care, was seeing a significant decrease in prospect inquiries. As a result, few of its communities were at full occupancy.

Key Insight

Industry research confirmed a perception of retirement communities as places where old people go to die, and, as a result, still-active seniors did not consider them a viable option for their own retirement years. In addition, research also suggested that seniors were nearly three times as likely to read and respond to direct mail than younger audiences, allowing Presbyterian Manors to more fully tell its story in a way that might inform — and ultimately persuade — this group.

Strategy

Utilizing direct mail, Presbyterian Manors would strive to change this stereotype, positioning its communities as dynamic places where seniors could continue to thrive both physically and socially. To increase leads, Presbyterian Manors would offer immediate incentives and require less of a time commitment from prospects, encouraging more casual exploration of retirement community living.

Associated created a no-obligation program that rewarded targets for considering or visiting any of Presbyterian Manors′ communities. A direct mail letter offered prequalified prospects a $25 restaurant or shopping mall gift card just for stopping by their local Presbyterian Manor for a personal tour. Associated used specific demographic information to create a highly targeted mailing list for each location.

Results

Tested for Aberdeen Village, a Kansas City community and one of Presbyterian Manors′ flagship facilities, the initial mailing generated more than 100 responses within the first week. Of these, 30 were call-in inquiries, leading to 10 actual tours and presentations that week. When rolled out to all Manors in the system, the campaign generated similar results and delivered a significant increase in the organization′s overall residency rate.

“Get Back to Your Life” Campaign

Challenge

Via Christi, the leading hospital system in central Kansas, was recognized by an independent healthcare ratings organization (HealthGrades) for its top quality medical care and expertise in several specialty areas. Via Christi wanted to communicate these honors to consumers without sounding self-serving or overly sterile and clinical.

Key Insight

When people are impacted by a serious illness or medical event, their regular routines are greatly disrupted or essentially stop. The most important thing for these patients during this difficult time is getting well and getting back to the activities, responsibilities and relationships that are important to them. They care less about the means of recovery – after all, medical expertise, technology and great care are expected from any medical institution – and more about the end result of returning to their lives.

Strategy

Associated′s direction was to take a deeply personal angle, communicating from the patient′s perspective about the key relationships, work responsibilities and favorite activities that were put on hold during the illness. The headline, “Get back to your life,” stressed positive results, while visuals in print, outdoor and TV ads focused on those who missed the ill person while he or she was recovering. A grandson rejoined on the baseball field by his grandfather, a classroom of college students reunited in a lecture hall by their instructor, and a dog who missed playing fetch with his owner — all of these brought to life the reconnected relationships so important to patients and their families. As a secondary element, the ads emphasized that Via Christi is better staffed and equipped with cutting-edge technology than any other hospital to deliver unparalleled heart, stroke, cancer and critical care. All of these advantages, according to the ads, help you “get back to your life faster, so you won′t miss a moment.”

Another treatment in the campaign took the perspective of an employer and how companies can count on the medical center to get employees back to work faster, “so the wheels of business can keep turning.”

Results

Primarily focused on building recognition of Via Christi′s award-winning capabilities and specialized care centers, the campaign was measured through consumer surveys both before and after the campaign. Those surveys indicated a stronger awareness of Via Christi′s areas of expertise and showed that the personal elements of the campaign strongly resonated with and yielded strong recall among consumers. Via Christi noted increased patient inquiries and utilization in all of its key specialty units – cardiology, cancer, stroke and urgent care – during and following the campaign.

Introduction of the da Vinci Surgical System

Challenge

The addition of the da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical system to Via Christi′s arsenal of high-tech medical treatment options represented a significant step forward in the hospital′s drive to provide the highest level of care and maintain its reputation of technical excellence. Associated was tasked with making the general public aware of the capabilities and benefits of the system, which creates smaller incisions, reduces post-surgical pain and minimizes scarring for shorter recovery times.

Key Insight

Research showed that consumers often put off surgical procedures due to the long recovery times that followed, reasoning that time away from work, family obligations and other responsibilities would be problematic. Because the da Vinci system′s tiny hands offer amazing precision, as well as requiring only small incisions that help reduce pain and minimize scarring, extended recovery times could be avoided.

Strategy

To emphasize the non-invasive nature of da Vinci surgery, primary messaging was focused on size, demonstrating how small hands could make a big difference to patients receiving treatment using the system. A print and outdoor media campaign was launched, using a dime to demonstrate how small the hands truly are. This added scale, as well as visually proving the claim of small incisions. Headlines, including “Tiny hands. Faster healing.” called out the primary feature and benefit in a simple and impactful way. A secondary ad, focused solely on prostate surgery, assured readers of the reliability of the system while again emphasizing the benefits of faster recovery.

Results

While HIPAA regulations and client concerns prevented us from accessing actual inquiry/referral/utilization statistics, feedback from Via Christi indicated a surge in both consumer and physician interest in the da Vinci system and its capabilities following the launch of the campaign. These surges were repeated during subsequent flights in print/outdoor placements. In addition, through its installation of the first da Vinci system in Central Kansas, Via Christi continued to build its reputation for technical excellence and innovation, as demonstrated by the results of an annual third-party Wichita healthcare survey.