Hospitals spend a lot of money on advertising, but the ads lack variation, study says

The Philadelphia area boasts one of the highest concentrations of hospital services in the U.S., but the print advertising themes for regional hospitals lack variation, finds a new study by health administration researchers at Drexel University.

That conclusion is based on hospital ads that appeared in the weekly health section of the Philadelphia Inquirer from May 2013 to April 2016.

The authors say hospital advertising creative teams may be unaware they're using the same themes of either "patients" or "health providers" as their focus. There's nothing inherently wrong with advertising focusing on patients, but sound marketing principle dictates differentiating among competitors -- something Philadelphia hospitals seldom do.

IMPACT

The ads were organized into six types reflecting major themes: Patients, health professionals, branding, health services, technology and procedures. "Patients" was the most-used attribute of these ads; they appeared in more than 35 percent of them.

"Health professionals" came in second at 27 percent, while "technology" and "procedures" were more uncommon, appearing in just four and three percent of the ads, respectively.

The takeaway is that hospitals' main marketing objective is typically to woo patients with ads that highlight them directly. The bad news is that hospitals are spending a lot of money to convey essentially the same message.

The authors said it would be possible to display a series of ads from hospitals with the name and logos redacted and one would not be able to discern one hospital from another.

Few ads featured technology or specialized services that could help hospitals differentiate themselves from the competition. In other words, very little branding is actually employed.

When the ads combined primary and secondary attributes, "branding" rose to the top, but general health services, specific procedures and tech advancement were still well behind, which researchers found surprising given that these are the actual services hospitals deliver.

During the study period, none of the advertisements mentioned hospital contributions to the community.

THE TREND

The importance of branding is only growing in the healthcare space, particularly in an era defined by consumerism and choice.

It's a new world for many providers, which typically haven't had to put much thought into their public image and outreach. But the healthcare industry of old is evaporating, making way for a marketplace that looks more like retail.

That represents a challenge, but also an opportunity, because providers who concoct an appropriate branding strategy are poised to capture a larger share of the market.

Twitter: @JELagasse

Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com