How Healthcare Marketing is Changing

The marketing of healthcare services has been transforming just as fast as the healthcare landscape itself over the last few years. Audiences have changed, and with that, so must the way marketing dollars are allocated.

There’s still a need for mass media efforts. Traditional channels like TV, radio, print and outdoor combined with digital efforts like paid search, display banners and social media are not only still relevant and necessary, but they’re effective, too.

However, hospitals and health systems are diversifying their service offerings to compete on a consumer level, and with that, sometimes the tried and true communication channels aren’t the best ways to communicate the right message to the right audience in the right place.

One way for healthcare marketers to do just that is to create experiences that connect consumers to the brand and its messages even more than mass media platforms allow. As an example, we recently completed a project working alongside Susan G. Komen Greater Kansas City (SGKGKC) that leveraged the latest technology to create an immersive Virtual Reality experience, which puts users into the avatar of real-life breast cancer survivors.

A mobile application for iOS and Android was also developed to include supplementary educational information and to allow users to stay in touch with SGKGKC by signing up for on-going communications, including appointment reminders.

This form of targeted marketing is just one example of the myriad of ways the healthcare industry is shifting both resources and messaging from traditional mass media channels to personal experiences aimed at promoting specific services and messages.

For SGKGKC, it turned out to be the best way to get someone to grasp the full gravity and importance of its message because it put users in the shoes of someone who has walked that long path.

To watch a short clip about the SGKGKC VR experience, check out the video below.

Learn more about how we’re helping healthcare marketing evolve. Visit our sister agency, hippo, or contact us today.