What’s a Hospitalist? Thanks for Asking

For years I’ve listened to marketing people lament the fact that consumers just don’t understand the term “hospitalist.” Consumers don’t know what a hospitalist is, and they don’t know what a hospitalist does. Therefore, most marketers have refrained from talking about hospitalists in their marketing.

I get it.

But isn’t it a self fulfilling prophecy? If you don’t make an effort to educate people about your hospitalist program then how will they ever come to understand it? And don’t the benefits offered by the presence of hospitalists justify a communications effort? I think so.

Recently, my firm launched a new campaign to promote the pediatric affiliation between Boston’s Floating Hospital for Children and Signature Healthcare (community hospital south of Boston). Going out on a limb, we decided to lead with hospitalist messaging. Truthfully, the pediatric hospitalist program is a compelling part of the program. It’s also new to consumers in that area. Within the campaign, we are using a fully integrated approach to educate the community about the functions of pediatric hospitalists in managing a child’s care, and how they work with families and the family’s physician to keep them informed every step of the way.

Here’s a quick look at a few of the print ads from the campaign. The print ads were accompanied by digital ads, transit, blog posts, online video, editorial efforts, and more. An effort like this is not going to succeed without a multi-channel effort.