Previous versions of “The SIG Chronicles” described my experiences as chair of the Healthcare SIG. This edition covers my experience in a July meeting of all the SIG leaders focused on improvements to our program.
Our new VP of SIGs, Rex Parsons, called a meeting of all the SIG chairs in July to talk about the program and make plans for improvements.
We kicked off the meeting with a short team-building exercise that I led using management tools from ADVISA.
In true marketing fashion we focused on research and communications. Rex shared some key research on SIGs that showed the primary reason, by far, for people to decide on attending a SIG was the speaker. Location, timing and networking opportunities were all much lower. This highlights the focus that the SIGs must maintain on developing topics and speakers of high interest.
Rex also shared research showing which SIG areas were of greatest interest to our audience – there was a long list but all I can remember from that slide is that Health Care marketing (my team’s focus) had the lowest number. Good thing I like a challenge!
Regarding content we discussed the growing importance of mobile technology and its impact on marketing. This is an area all the SIGs hope to explore more in-depth in the upcoming year. We also thought a day-long program focused on marketing involving all the SIGs might be a good approach to try – this would replace the regularly-scheduled morning programs for a time.
In the area of communications we discussed ways to improve the promotion of the SIGs. We plan to move the initial email blast earlier in the promotion cycle and increase the frequency. Martin is also looking at how to improve the interaction with the event registration program – currently there are very few people with the training necessary to effectively use the system. The website was another key topic – it needs a bit of help, for example the names of people associated with the SIGs (yours truly, included) had not been updated as of the time we met.
We also committed ourselves to goals to increase attendance and membership recruitment – which means we have to improve the content of the meetings, the speakers we include and communication of all this.
Next in “The SIG Chronicles” – Topic TBD!
About “The SIG Chronicles:” This blog series records Paul Dumouchelle’s experiences, impressions and insights gained as Chair of the Healthcare Marketing Special Interest Group for the Columbus branch of the American Marketing Association.
Previous versions of “The SIG Chronicles” described my early experiences as chair of the Healthcare SIG. This edition promotes the upcoming SIG presentation on September, 23, 2010 by Amy Dawson, Sr. Vice President and Healthcare Group Account Director of Fahlgren. Established in 1962, Fahlgren is a Columbus-based full-service communications agency with 160 associates in seven offices across four states.
Make Twitter, Facebook and YouTube work for your medical practice using proven strategies and tactics from a master in the field! Newbies and social media “veterans” will benefit from real-world case studies and execution tips for marketing medical services from Amy Dawson, Sr. Vice President and Healthcare Group Account Director of Fahlgren.
Prior to joining Fahlgren, Amy spent 13 years with OhioHealth, and she has extensive background in public relations and marketing on both the client and agency side. Her work has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally, including a PRSA Silver Anvil Award for Excellence in Healthcare Marketing Communications. She has worked with integrated health systems, academic medical centers, specialty hospitals, physician practices, medical device and distribution brands and health-related non-profits.
Previous versions of “The SIG Chronicles” described my early experiences as chair of the Healthcare SIG. This edition describes the presentation by Brenda Stier, CEO of Marketing Works at our 5/27/10 event.
Brenda began by asking us to think of the best marketing event we can remember attending and also the worst – what was the difference? For me, the best was a nonprofit organization’s annual fundraiser dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. That one black-tie event funded the bulk of our budget for the year but it took almost one person’s full-time commitment to pull it off. The worst were probably some radio tie-ins during my time in Regional Marketing with SC Johnson – if the radio station’s reach was too narrow we got virtually zero in-store activity.
A key element in favor of “experiential marketing,” as Brenda called it, is the QUALITY of the contact you have with the participants. Events can make connections with key stakeholders and provide an opportunity for lengthy interaction that is impossible in the day-to-day world. This quality connection can reduce the elapsed time necessary to achieve closure on a decision. Relationships built this way tend to last longer, as well, since you create a bond that extends beyond a mere transaction.
Balanced against this quality, of course, is the cost in time and money to make an manage an event – but the budgetary discussion should include an emphasis on how much better the quality of resulting connections can be.
Brenda also emphasized several tactical considerations to maximize the impact of your event:
Training for event participants – so they understand the business goals for the event and don’t get too caught up in any of the fun or entertainment designed for the guests
Plan for real-time course corrections during the event – stay on top of what is happening and make changes as necessary to stay on track toward your goals
Utilize email and text messaging to attendees during tradeshows to draw traffic to your booth or presentations or parties
Leverage Linkedin discussion groups to build a buzz about your tradeshow activities and promote appointments at your booth
Marketing Works, Brenda’s firm, has organized several events for healthcare clients and she highlighted case studies on projects for Neurological Associates and another for Progressive Medical.
Next in “The SIG Chronicles” – “Social Media for Healthcare Practices”
Previous versions of “The SIG Chronicles” described my experiences that led to my chairing the Healthcare SIG. This edition describes what happened when I had to assume my duties earlier than planned.
If doing it yourself is the best training then I got excellent training in how to manage a SIG event in advance of assuming my full responsibilities as Chair. My predecessor was scheduled to manage our May event, the final one of his tenure, but a change of business plans meant he’d be out of town and he asked me to take over – so I did.
Earlier in “The SIG Chronicles” I described how I got involved in the Columbus AMA and wound up chairing the Healthcare SIG. This edition records my impressions upon attending my first-ever Healthcare SIG event.
Part of the fun in taking on any new challenge is the little bit of thrill one gets in experiencing the unknown. Admittedly, the thrill of finding an office in the predawn darkness of Powell, Ohio, on March 25, 2010 isn’t going to rank high on anyone’s list of lifetime memories, but, first impressions do stick with you for awhile. So as I pulled into this new (to me) parking lot it was good to see other marketing professionals arrive at 7 in the morning in preparation for our program that day.
The presentation, “The Day Marketing Saved a Life” by Laura McCoy, VP of Marketing and Communications for OhioHealth, was quite excellent. It focused on a comprehensive OhioHealth marketing campaign whose crowning achievement was the video advertisement of their patient from Ireland who had some vascular surgery on his leg which avoided possible amputation.
The line that stuck with me the first time I saw the ad – and in Laura’s presentation I learned was the result of almost two complete days of filming in Ireland with the patient – went along the lines of “Doctor’s told me I might lose my leg, which was really bad news because I wasn’t done using it.”
Like most creative breakthroughs, that line came about because of outstanding marketing work in framing the strategy and pursuing stellar execution.
What I also spent time doing that day, though, was paying attention to the logistics and teamwork necessary to pull the event off. The registration table at the event is the culmination of advance work involving a web communication team and event administrator, plus leadership coordination of materials and site requirements, plus volunteer commitments to pull the whole thing together at the event itself. Refreshments involve leadership preparation, planning and finally execution in getting up early enough to have stuff ready at the site by 7AM – no mean feat.
Laura’s involvement and presentation, I learned, was the result of months of pre-planning and content preparation. To the casual attendee all this advance work is not visible – all you see is a smooth-running program and thought-provoking communication in an environment conducive to networking with other Central Ohio marketing professionals.
Next in “The SIG Chronicles” – “Planning the Work”
Earlier in “The SIG Chronicles” I described how I got involved in the Columbus AMA and wound up chairing the Healthcare SIG. This edition describes some of my fears and doubts as I embarked on that adventure.
When the VP of SIGs asked me whether I’d be willing to chair the Healthcare SIG I responded positively. After all, I was looking for an opportunity to deepen my involvement in the Columbus AMA and, I suppose, I have a bit of an altruistic streak. Probably, P.T. Barnum would have called me a “sucker.”
There are three primary sources of the second thoughts I had after making this commitment – prior volunteer experiences, lack of SIG experience and the “job” requirements.
Being of an altruistic bent I’ve volunteered for many things over the years. I would call some of those experiences successes, some, well, not so much.
One of the worst ones was the impulse that led me to become President of my Junior Class at Gabriel Richard High School in Downriver Detroit. The impulse to run for Class President originated in anger – when I saw the Sophomore Class President expend student funds to purchase flowers for the teachers, well, this was too much for my teen-rebel soul. My “No Flowers for Teachers” platform was a winner, and led to a real rabble-rousing speech before the class assembly, but I now realize this was a pretty crummy leadership proposition.
On the opposite end of the success spectrum is my record working to preserve, protect and restore the Darby Creek watershed in Central Ohio. Much of this work has been as a volunteer leader in the Darby Creek Association. The high point was leading two petition drives in the City of Columbus that lead to a development moratorium and establishment of the Big Darby Accord to oversee new initiatives in environmentally benign development in Western Franklin County. My role led to an “Ohioan of the Year” award from the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
As for my lack of SIG experience, all I had done was attend a couple of the events. I really had no idea what the behind the scenes work involved. Finally, when I asked, I was given a 21 page SIG Handbook with all the details – which are actually fairly daunting.
I’m not overly worried about being able to fulfill my role as the Chair for the SIG. I did spend sleepless nights stressing about the overwhelming work involved with the Darby petition campaigns. In the end, my time commitment to that volunteer effort proved unsustainable once those campaigns were won. I learned, though, that when you lead a volunteer effort you have to go “all in” to make it a success. Chairing a SIG doesn’t look like it will prove impossible – at least right now it doesn’t.
Next in “The SIG Chronicles” – “My First Healthcare SIG Event”
About “The SIG Chronicles:” This blog series records Paul Dumouchelle’s experiences, impressions and insights gained as Chair of the Healthcare Marketing Special Interest Group for the Columbus branch of the American Marketing Association.
“The SIG Chronicles” blog series records my experiences, impressions and insights gained as Chair of the Healthcare Marketing Special Interest Group for the Columbus branch of the American Marketing Association.
In 2009 I ramped up my presence on LinkedIn, probably an indicator this technology had peaked since I tend to be a laggard when it comes to technology adoption. Using LinkedIn as a networking tool I noticed something called a “SIG” on Social Media was being organized by Sandy Blanquera and held at the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center (DEC).Since I’d met Sandy before, social media was of interest to me and the DEC is only 10 minutes from my home I decided to check out this thing called a “SIG.” It turned out to be an interesting gathering where I learned some tips on social media use and got a couple business leads. I also had to shell out $15 since I wasn’t a member of the American Marketing Association at the time (members pay $5).
This experience caused me to evaluate AMA membership and led to my joining the organization – that $10 discount on a SIG is SO COOL! My current work has to do more with general management initiatives rather than purely marketing but my early career was in brand management and I’ve always loved the creative challenge marketing represents.
The next time a SIG caught my eye it was for the Internet/eCommerce group – this time it was a panel discussion held at Mills James. At this point I decided to figure out what “SIG” stood for and invested the time into the two or three mouse clicks it took to learn it meant “Special Interest Group.” A curious name, since in politics a “special interest group” is just about everyone’s bogeyman, regardless of political ideology – no wonder SIG is always used, instead. This time I got to enjoy the special privilege of the members-only $5 entrance fee and the event was even more stimulating than my earlier experience.
After these positive SIG exposures I decided to investigate joining one of the committees that runs these programs. I saw there was an opening on the Internet/eCommerce group and “technology laggard” though I may be, I had run the consumer division of CheckFree and managed the launch of the first-ever web-based billpay product, so I had some credentials in this marketplace. Speaking with the VP in charge of SIGs I offered my services and he advised the Internet/eCommerce opening was filled but they did need someone to Chair the Healthcare SIG, was I interested in that?
Next in “The SIG Chronicles” – “What Did I Get Myself Into?”
Bob Evans Restaurants core customers are 65+. It’s down on the farm feel doesn’t give it a modern vibe at all. But they’ve embraced the 21st century and are using digital marketing to make it all happen. Columbus AMA President Nick Iannitto asked Chelsea Hamilton, the Field Marketing Communications/PR Manager, how its gone digital without losing its core values.
At the December 8 Columbus AMA luncheon, Michael Daniels, Co-Owner and Co-Publisher of Outlook Media, spoke on demographic niche marketing in Central Ohio. Daniels focused his discussions on how to market to Asians, African Americans, GLBT & Hispanics.
The highlight of Daniels’ speech was focused on the need to create unique strategies to attract each group, including ads that are different for each group because they all have different needs and desires as customers.
If your organization is cutting back on business travel, you’re in good company. Travel budgets are often the first casualties of the economic downturn. But with corporate travel on standby, business communicators still have deadlines to make – including training and continuing education, new product introductions, quarterly employee updates, crisis communications and plant announcements. Virtual is replacing the physical as creative organizations use more electronic media to communicate with employees, dealers and members – so the story still gets out while everyone stays put.
Live video Webcasting is a virtual meeting format that lets executives originate big meeting-quality presentations from their offices or boardrooms to employees, customers and investors – complete with PowerPoint and interactive Q&A. Webcasts can be viewed live or downloaded 24/7 at participants’ convenience – even those working from their home– and can be more inclusive than large events. Administrative support personnel, who otherwise might not have been included, can be invited to participate at little incremental cost to the organization.
Larger firms are embracing “cascade meetings” where important announcements and new-product introductions make their premiere at more modestly sized live events, then “cascade” out into the rest of the company via crisply produced media materials including DVDs, meetings in a box and downloadable audio/video/presentation files.
Other companies are taking cues from large financial institutions, known for routinely taking executive teams on tour to smaller employee group meetings. With electronic presentation equipment more portable, these executive road shows help curtail corporate travel costs.
