Making Hospital Commercials Memorable

What commercials stick out the most in your memory? Maybe it’s “Keep your hands off my Doritos!” Maybe it’s the Geico cavemen spots. What makes them memorable? That’s easy — they’re funny.

Now, when’s the last time you told a friend, “Oh, man, you should see this hospital commercial!” Exactly. Healthcare-related ads are typically very subdued: a panoramic view of a hospital floor, smiling doctors and nurses, high-tech equipment, etc. A soothing voice assures you that, as a patient, you’ll receive the best care possible. Ho-hum.

Is there another way to get that message across?

Fauquier Health in Virginia seemed to think so. While their message is typical —you are a priority, your care is personalized — their delivery is anything but. Instead of pleasant but forgettable images of their own facilities, Fauquier’s TV commercials depict just the opposite: a factory-like hospital treating patients on an assembly line. In one spot, anonymous patients roll by doctors in hard hats who shout instructions across the factory floor (“This one’s goin’ to x-ray!”). In another spot, pregnant women are treated like cattle. A nurse hands out cups to mothers without making eye contact, mechanically chanting, “Ice chips. Ice chips.” A doctor almost cruelly flashes a newborn at its mother then tosses the baby into a passing bassinet.

Not what you would expect from a hospital. But, no doubt, you can relate to being treated impersonally in a healthcare setting. So, while there’s no word yet on whether these spots have had an impact on Fauquier’s bottom line, they’re probably gonna stick in your mind.

Learning the do's and don'ts of Twitter

I’m not going to lie. When I was asked to attend the 2010 TWTRCON Twitter for Business conference in NYC, I thought, “Seriously? A conference for Twitter?” I mean, how hard is it to string together 140 characters as an update? Why on earth is there a full conference on this stuff? What’s the big deal?

The answer is actually fairly simple: Twitter is a way to connect with people with whom you normally wouldn’t be able to connect. It’s a simultaneous content feed that allows tweeters to get new information and updates and read about what’s going on within their industry or social network. @MrShri says “Facebook is people you went to school with, Twitter is people you wished you went to school with.” It’s why so many people follow famous brands — because they can! And those brands better be on board.

If I wasn’t sure before this conference how big of a deal Twitter is, especially for businesses, I am now. Especially after Martha Stewart (@marthastewart) appeared as the keynote speaker. That’s right. Martha Stewart of the Martha Stewart empire. Who knew she was a tweeting expert? She has almost 2 million followers on Twitter and saw that the conference was packed with eager tweeters waiting to hear the media mogul talk about her social media experience and how it has affected her brand.

As Martha pointed out, your brand needs to share its own voice and personality through tweets. And that’s important: Twitter can be a machine pumping out information, or it can be a means to connect on a human level. Read more of Martha’s insights here.

Twitter is still new and businesses are still trying to figure out how to use it effectively for their own purposes. TWTRCON provided guidelines for just that. And, whether or not you ever become an expert, Twitter is here to stay — that is, until the next social medium arrives. So make sure your business is a part of the conversation and make sure that its personality shows through.

Even Barbie uses social media.

The 50-plus doll was once limited to traditionally “feminine” career choices such as ballerina, model, teacher or nurse. As times changed and women threw off their shackles (did Barbie ever even have a bra to burn?), her options expanded: paratrooper, paleontologist, pilot and even President of the United States.

Now, for the first time ever, loyal Barbie fans were asked to help her choose her 125th career for the “I Can Be” doll series by voting on the following: architect, computer engineer, environmentalist, news anchor or surgeon. Twitter followers and fans on Facebook voted for News Anchor Barbie — she’ll be available this fall. The social media campaign was such a success that fans insisted on choosing Barbie’s 126th career, computer engineer, coming in winter.

Barbie used her Twitter account (@BarbieStyle) to keep the conversation going with her followers.

Barbie: Secret agent? Publicist? Electrical engineer? Heartin’ your suggestions, dolls! @marielcisneros @sticktomyguns @rocquel74

This helped validate the suggestions people offered and kept the hype up about her next career. Barbie also sent out announcements through Facebook:

Barbie: I can’t believe it’s only one more week ’til I get my new dream job! Gosh, I better hit the beach and soak up the fun while I can…

Even with her new careers determined, The Barbster is still engaging with consumers and fans:

Barbie: This just in: I’m still deciding on a perfectly doll-tastic nightly news sign off…Suggestions?

Looks like Barbie is going to have a busy year. But not to worry — she’ll make time to keep in touch with her fans through Twitter and Facebook between reporting the news and developing the next big technology for computers.

Soon, you can search within your circle of friends.

We can get overwhelmed sifting through blogs and online discussions. That’s why we turn to our social circle for recommendations. But our friends also have several social network accounts and each one has a lot of information. So how do we keep track of it all?

Don’t fret, fellow social butterflies: Google is developing Social Search. It enables users to add their networking profiles to a Google account and see search results filtered and prioritized based on their circle of friends. This means that we can turn to our social circle first when filtering results on the web. For instance, if I wanted to research restaurants in my area, results from my trusted social circle would appear more prominently in my search.

Click here for an overview of Google Social Search.

Putting social networking to work...literally.

Yammer is a simple way for employees to connect and share by posting messages. As more employees participate, it becomes a corporate social network, discussion board and knowledge base. Yammer is like a combination of Facebook and Twitter. Your company can create a profile that mimics the look of Facebook: picture, wall posts/messages, an information page, etc. Your company also has a “network.” And the Yammer is protected, permitting only people from your company to join by requiring your company’s domain (@yourcompany.com). The homepage resembles Twitter — members of your company can post messages about what they’re working on or post questions to coworkers.

But what happens when employees start spending more and more time chatting on Yammer? Will it be a time-waster? Or a morale-booster? Only time will tell.

Getting creative with billboard design.

Yeah, yeah — we know all about Facebook, Twitter and all the other types of social media. But where does that leave traditional media? Where does that leave the billboard?

It’s hard not to feel bad for traditional media trying to keep up with all of the new technology. But you don’t have to worry about the billboard — some very creative people (not as creative as us) came up with some very clever ways to breathe new life into these oft-maligned road signs. In fact, they may be too eye-catching — it’s easy to imagine drivers so distracted by these works of marketing art that they sail off the overpass.

Check out 50 mind-bending billboards from 10Steps.SG for yourself — but keep your eyes on the road if you drive by them.

The emerging trend of Nowism.

Instant gratification is nothing new. For years, we’ve had instant coffee, microwave ovens and FedEx. Today’s attention-deficit-disordered generation has taken this institutionalized impatience even further with iPhones and BlackBerrys — the information superhighway is right at our fingertips. With iTunes we can find any song, movie or TV show as soon as we want it — then put it on our iPhone to take wherever we go. And digital cameras — remember film?

Now comes a social movement called Nowism. According to trendwatching.com:

Consumers’ ingrained lust for instant gratification is being satisfied by a host of novel, important (offline and online) real-time products, services and experiences. Consumers are also feverishly contributing to the real-time content avalanche that’s building as we speak. As a result, expect your brand and company to have no choice but to finally mirror and join the ‘now’, in all its splendid chaos, realness and excitement.

Nowism is hot — companies such as Details are creating walk stations that let you exercise while you work. The Shazam app lets your iPhone analyze a song on the radio, tell you the name and artist, show you where you can buy it and give you the option to purchase on the spot. These are just two examples — more and more companies are cashing in by meeting the demands of an increasingly restless public. But, as with all trends, Nowism will eventually be relegated to “Then-ism.” What will replace it? And how will you make it work for you?

Everyone needs an advocate.

Imagine getting a blood test and never hearing from the doctor about the results so you assume everything is OK. Now fast-forward eight months — you’re paler and more bruised than usual so you go get more blood work. Then you wake up on your birthday and get a call from your doctor telling you to get to the emergency room. That’s exactly what happened to Matt Sheehan a month ago. After going to the ER at Hackensack University Medical Center, Sheehan learned he has a rare blood disorder — aplastic anemia. This means that the bone marrow does not make enough blood cells. It also means that Sheehan has to go through countless tests, transfusions, biopsies and other health nightmares.

After his diagnosis, Sheehan decided to share his story with the world. He uses his blog to not only update his progress or setbacks with treatment, but to document his experience with doctors, nurses, insurance, bureaucracy and all the confusion within the healthcare industry. Sheehan’s message: Be your own advocate. Read more at www.mypiccline.com.

While Sheehan’s blog isn’t technically a “care page,” it serves a similar purpose: an easy way to update those around you without having to pick up the phone every 10 minutes. Care pages are becoming increasingly popular with patients and their loved ones. As the CarePages website (www.carepages.com) says, “Through it, you can receive emotional support with loved ones and friends during a health challenge.”

And, just as individuals need an advocate when dealing with the healthcare system, a healthcare system needs an advocate when dealing with social media and the web.