Our brand
What is a brand?
Children's Hospital Boston's brand is found in the promise we
make to deliver the world's best pediatric care, and is reflected
in the hundreds of thousands of patients we successfully care
for every year. Branding means communicating that promise in a
way that resonates with people and distinguishes Children’s
from other hospitals. All of our communications—from our
printed materials and Web site, to how we answer the phone—should
reflect that promise. Take a moment to review this web site and
see what you think of Children’s new brand image.
What is Children's brand promise?
To deliver the world’s best pediatric care and conduct life-changing
research. We use three words to encapsulate these ideals:
- Optimism - this
is the place where we don't say no and there is always hope
- Innovation -
our hospital’s long track record of innovations and firsts
through our world-renowned clinical and research programs
- Devotion - the
enduring commitment our staff demonstrates in caring for our
patients and their families.
Why does Children’s need a brand?
We have a brand whether we consciously market it or not. Again,
the brand is the promise we make to our patients and their families
that we will deliver the most advanced and compassionate care.
In the past, Children’s has spent its limited marketing
budget on reaching out to referring physicians who are key decision
makers in the choice of where to send a patient for treatment.
However, recent consumer studies indicate that parents are becoming
more active in the decision-making process, particularly with
the advent of the Internet, which makes information much more
readily accessible. The new brand campaign is a concerted effort
to reach these individuals.
In addition, Children’s wants to expand our brand reputation
to a national level, and this campaign is a key step in that process.
The hospital has already been laying the groundwork with an aggressive
national earned media (or publicity) campaign that resulted in
double the amount of national coverage last fiscal year compared
to 2002.
With limited funds to spend on promoting our brand image, we
need to make sure that the messaging is as effective as possible.
Arnold Worldwide, the advertising agency that has taken us on
at no charge, spent months helping the Marketing and Public Affairs
Departments to determine both the rational and emotional reasons
why parents come to Children’s.
How does branding work?
During the branding process you establish a brand platform also
known as an essence, that captures the rational and emotional
reasons why consumers prefer your institution. Arnold Worldwide,
went one step further and defined the parents most inclined to
take an active role in the decision-making process when selecting
a hospital. That was followed by the development of an integrated
campaign that will reach consumers at various decision-making
points.
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