Case Studies  >  Academic Medical Center

PROMOTING A TURNAROUND STORY AND ASSISTING A LARGE ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTER WITH RESEARCH, MARKET POSITIONING AND GENERAL MEDIA RELATIONS

Using Multi-Faceted Strategic Communications Programs to Advance an Institution's Reputation and Business Agenda

Background and Situation Analysis

Our client, a large internationally-acclaimed academic medical center with operations in the Northeast, had previously merged with an out-of-state hospital. What was envisioned as a perfect match, turned out to be anything but.

N&A's client ran into immediate problems with integrating the combined operations. In an effort to "save" the institution, the board of directors voted to dissolve the partnership.

During the aftermath, N&A's client struggled financially as it tried to regain its independence. In one reporting period, the hospital group reported a $16 million yearly shortfall. Stories in major news outlets reported on the "ailing medical center."

After an aggressive search, the institution hired a new chief executive officer to right the ship, and within months, this individual introduced a number of important changes designed to improve operations and put the medical center back on track toward profitability.

From the beginning of N&A's engagement, the mission was clear: rebuild public relations efforts, create immediate opportunities for the hospital to tell its turnaround story, and for the longer term, launch a quantitative research effort to ensure continued success.

Strengthened Media Relations Efforts

In the first phase of its assignment, N&A worked closely with the institution's public affairs team to roll out a series of announcements focusing on the hospital's improving finances and its clinical programs.

For example, the hospital made quarterly financial announcements as its numbers strengthened. This created a series of positive stories emphasizing the "business" aspects of the turnaround.

Simultaneously, our team enterprised a major editorial profile of the new CEO. By telling her story in a Sunday newspaper with a circulation of more than 800,000, the institution was able to impart a number of key messages to the broadest possible audience. This feature story also reinforced the strong commitment from the board to restore the hospital to its previous high standing in the community.

As part of its overall communications program, the agency participated in a series of brainstorming sessions with major hospital departments including cardiology, neurology, transplant, OB-GYN, pediatrics, orthopedics, and clinical research. These sessions were used to generate story ideas that could be pitched to various print and broadcast media outlets. Among the successful placements were stories about:

• A strategic partnership with a major children's hospital in the same city as our client

• Important research conducted on the incidence of medical errors inside the nation's major hospitals

• New surgical techniques that dramatically reduce the trauma and stress related to brain surgery

• Groundbreaking of a new cancer center wing funded by the charitable foundation of a popular retired professional athlete

• A major partnership with a 700-member primary care group

• New research about possible serious side effects from one of the major statin drugs on the market

Charting the Future

While the aggressive external communications effort continued, N&A partnered with a major market research organization to assist the hospital with a comprehensive project to chart the course of future positioning and messaging. The overall goal was to conduct research that would support the institution's competitive market position.

In conjunction with this effort, a Product Line Marketing Group was formed. The group, which consisted of inside senior managers, physicians, and outside counsel, held weekly meetings to strategize, organize, and ultimately implement the project. The resulting initiatives included:

• A series of in-depth interviews with hospital senior managers, including a number of physicians

• Development of a series of questionnaires to be utilized in planned external market researc

• Several off-site consumer, physician, and current patient focus groups

• Comprehensive reports containing dozens of verbatims, both positive and negative

As a result of this quantitative research, the hospital developed a marketing communications plan that embodied the messages gleaned from dozens of meetings and interviews.

The research also became the basis of a new ad campaign that rolled out over a three-month period. Ads were placed on billboards, in print, and on the radio.

The Results

Within only a few weeks of beginning its assignment, Nicolazzo & Associates had successfully partnered with its client to dramatically increase the substance and frequency of positive news coverage.

The majority of the stories were stand-alone reports that differentiated the hospital from its competition. Moreover, coverage was in the large city daily newspaper that was most coveted by the institution.

The effort organized and implemented by N&A helped the client establish a consistent outreach program that has solidified its presence and enhanced its leadership role in the city it continues to serve so well.