Creative advertising has a place in medicine

I’ve felt resistance before from those within the healthcare industry that feel that marketing or advertising is “below them.”  Back in July, I actually blogged about this issue in a post titled, “The ‘M’ word in private practice: Marketing.”  Marketing, and advertising specifically, does not have to liken your practice to the used car lot across town.  I would go so far as to say that if your practice truly has something of value to offer your community, you have an ethical obligation to spread the word – and marketing is a valuable tool used to do just that.

I really like this article from the MGMA, as it is a classic story of creative advertising in the medical arena.  The campaign is rife with humor, wit, and success – and sounds like it was a whole lot of fun too.

What started with a phone call from a local journalist wanting to write a column about the “funniest advertising campaign he’d ever heard of” turned into a media torrent: features in or on The Oregonian, CBS Morning News, ESPN Radio, CNN, newspapers in cities not only across the country but across the seas, and more. Even a reporter from Forbesmagazine called wanting to know why the practice chose March Madness over the Masters (demographics, FitzPatrick says).