Merry Cliché-Less Christmas!

By: Kris Miskella, Account Executive, Legato Marketing & Communications

“Naughty or nice,” “Santa’s little helpers,” “bah humbug,” “ring in the New Year.” You’re likely to hear a steady stream of these phrases this time of year. You can “tis” and “twas” your way through the entire holiday season. And while they may bring happy feelings of nostalgia during the holidays, there is no place for clichés in advertising.

We use clichés because they’re easy and safe. But this type of average work inevitably becomes white noise mixed in with the rest of the advertisers on billboards, radio, online and elsewhere.

Healthcare advertisers are some of the worst offenders. “Personal care,” “high quality care,” “skilled surgeons” and “caring nurses” are a few of the most common headlines in the healthcare industry. People expect skilled surgeons and caring nurses, they’re give-ins – not your competitive advantage.

It’s scary, but it’s time to stretch what’s expected and accepted in healthcare advertising. Stop treating healthcare as if it’s a fragile leg lamp (yes, another holiday cliché). Strong advertising that will truly capture attention and make the audience take notice has to be out-there. Dancing hamsters and shark focus groups are unique and memorable, but just imagine if something like that came out of a hospital. These days, any idea that seems extreme shouldn’t be tossed aside – it should be moved to the ‘keeper’ pile. Different works. As long as the message is there.

I’m not suggesting that a community hospital spend 30 percent of its annual budget on a commercial full of dancing rodents. But there are easy ways that healthcare organizations can start differentiating themselves.

Social Media. For an industry that relies heavily on word-of-mouth and referrals, an active presence on twitter and Facebook is vital but social media outlets are also one of the easiest mediums for dipping your toes in ‘out-there’ marketing tactics. Ask your ‘fans’ to send a picture or video of their craziest dance moves; people have tons of weird talents that they love sharing with others – and this offers a great opportunity to insert a ‘we treat you like the unique, one-of-a-kind patent you are’ message. Hopefully you end up with some wild videos that will keep potential patients coming back for more.

Video. Use social media outlets to broadcast a video that showcases the personality of your healthcare organization. Video offers the opportunity to be a little riskier than with traditional television while still taking advantage of the medium’s image-enhancing benefits. Have your employees let loose on camera: people want to connect with their healthcare providers and it’s nice to see doctors and nurses let down their guard.

Guerilla Marketing. Create awareness for your organization with interactive campaigns in your community. Use sidewalk chalk to draw a hopscotch outline and next to it write the message: “Hop to good health.” Or, place a fun-house mirror in a heavily trafficked area and paint this message: “Laughter is good for your health.” These techniques will get people buzzing.

Advertising. Now is when you have to ‘put your money where your mouth is’ and run with the concept that steps ‘outside the box.’ As long as the message is there, bizarre concepts have the power to capture your audience’s attention and become memorable. Take a calculated risk and make sure to track results. You’ll likely see your courage pay off.

There are countless ways of stretching the boundaries of healthcare marketing, but to avoid becoming a “Twelve Days of Christmas” parody I’ll stop here.