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St. Francis
Scores a Ten
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Business New Haven
1/26/1998
By: BNH
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HARTFORD - This month's meeting of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Marketing Association featured a case study in community-based marketing.
Ed Johnson, senior VP for public relations and community affairs, and Susan Lewis, director of public relations, both from St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, outlined how they planned and implemented “Ten Amazing Stories,” a series of special events that launched the new ten-story Patient Care Tower in 1996. The five-day celebration included facility tours for more than 8,000 guests, as well as banquets, parades, dedications, luncheons and other major events.
Johnson and Lewis offered the following tips and suggestions for marketing events:
Start planning as early as possible. Advertising, public relations, sponsorship campaigns and talent booking all take time to set up. St. Francis put together “Ten Amazing Stories” in only six months, but could have used more time for fine-tuning.
Choose the date carefully. The events took place during the last week of June, before the traditional summer slowdown, and well before the hospital's most important annual fall fundraiser.
Create a theme. St. Francis used the theme “Ten Amazing Stories” in advertising, posters, T-shirts, brochures, press kits, invitations and other elements.
Develop a key message. All elements, from the advertising to the tour, focused on increasing awareness of the hospital's new facility, especially its advanced use of technology.
Know and include your audience. The five-day celebration addressed both internal and external audiences in special ways, such as giving the very first tours to employees and hosting a black-tie event for donors.
Use giveaways. To make people a part of the celebration - and help them remember the day - St. Francis gave T-shirts to employees, elegant glass paperweights to donors, and coloring books to kids in the community.
Think big. One key event included a dedication and blessing by Hartford's archbishop, as well as a parade with mounted police, fire trucks and marching bands. The spectacle also scored emotional points, with two patients giving testimonials and local Scouts raising St. Francis' flag.
Make the event reflect your audience. To appeal to Hartford's diverse communities, St. Francis hired Latino musicians, Puerto Rican artists and other groups.
Use your own resources, and volunteers, as appropriate. All events were held in various locations on the hospital grounds - including the not-yet-filled medical records room, which served as the locale for a luncheon. Instead of hiring food vendors, St. Francis highlighted yet another of its facets by having its own dietary chefs prepare food. The self-guided tours were facilitated by 300 volunteers, all wearing “Ten Amazing Stories” polo shirts and buttons.
Make the event interactive and engaging - especially for children. A treasure hunt, with major prizes donated by media sponsors, called people's attention to various locations on the tour.
Create a post-event memento. To thank attendees - and to let those who didn't come know what they missed - St. Francis developed a brochure-style newsletter, with photos and write-ups from the celebration. The newsletter will also be used in future campaigns to solicit new donors and sponsors.
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