Our Blog
Bookmark this page. Here you’ll regularly find new healthcare marketing insights, advice and commentary from the bpd team. We explore a wide range of topics covering hospital advertising, digital strategy, healthcare marketing trends, media planning, creative development, consumer psychology, brand storytelling and much more.
Augmented Reality Can Augment Your Hospital’s Print Ads
July 2, 2015
By Vanessa Prokop
Healthcare Marketing, Print Ads, Marketing Trends
What was movie magic in Harry Potter is coming closer to reality with Augmented Reality print ads. Learn about this new trend and how it can enhance your hospital marketing.
Better Work. Faster: The #1 Thing Hospitals Can Do to Improve the ROI From Their Marketing Agencies
June 25, 2015
By Richard Bell
Healthcare Marketing, Marketing, ROI
You probably know what a “brief” is, but are you using it properly to get the best work out of your advertising agency? Learn why the Client Brief is so critical to getting the best work from your agency, plus get a sample template to help you get started.
“By Any Other Name…” Benefits of a Content Audit for Your Healthcare Digital Marketing
June 4, 2015
By Paula Rae Forastiero
Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Digital Marketing, Healthcare Marketing
Shakespeare has the right idea when he questioned the value of a name. Content Audits may sound like something to avoid, but in fact they’re one of the most valuable content strategy tools you have. Learn what goes into a Content Audit, what you should expect to get out of it and why you need one.
Cavemen Need Doctors, Too: How Healthcare Can Take a Lesson From the Insurance Industry.
May 28, 2015
By Vince DeMarinis
Healthcare Marketing, Risk Taking
Do you remember an insurance campaign before the Mayhem Guy, Flo and Cavemen hit the scene? Probably not. So, take a page from the insurance industry and learn how to improve your healthcare marketing campaigns by breaking your own rules.
How to Engage Patients in a World of Marketing Overload: 3 Tips
May 14, 2015
By James Hale
Healthcare Marketing, Risk Taking, Marketing Goals, Billboards
How do you cut through the estimated 5,000 visual messages the average city dweller sees in a day to make sure your marketing message is heard? Start with these three marketing fundamentals.
ROI: The Three Letters that Make Every Healthcare Marketer Squirm
May 7, 2015
By Kara Hoffner
ROI, Marketing Strategy, Healthcare Marketing
ROI may be the Holy Grail of healthcare marketing, but it doesn’t have to be as elusive. Learn how we restructured an Ask the Doc campaign to get to an accurate ROI for Holy Cross Hospital.
6 Ways to Market to Potential Patients (Instead of Internal Stakeholders)
April 17, 2015
By Gayle Toth
Marketing Goals, Marketing Strategy, Marketing, Healthcare Marketing
We’ve all had to fight the good fight—balancing what’s needed for our brand strategy with what’s politically desired by our internal stakeholders. Here are six strategies to help you execute campaigns that succeed in marketing to your target audience instead of just pleasing internal stakeholders.
Blog Like You Mean It: Four Tips for Healthcare Marketers
April 2, 2015
By Paula Rae Forastiero
Blogging, Content Strategy, Healthcare Marketing
Looking for some ideas for your healthcare blog? Get four tips to help you find your next, highly-engaging topic: Forget what you know, Focus on Failure, Mine your connections and Stop when you’re done. It sounds simple enough, right?
Learn how to use these four blogging tips to engage your readers and keep the fresh ideas flowing.
Advertising in Hospitals: The Power of Onsite Marketing
March 26, 2015
By Gayle Toth
Onsite Marketing, Hospital Marketing, Healthcare Marketing, Marketing Strategy
So many of Hospital Marketing teams’ strategic planning discussions revolve around activities that only focus on getting patients in the doors of the hospital. Of course, this is extremely important--patient volumes keep those doors open. But what happens once they are in the door?
How risky is a "safe" ad concept?
March 12, 2015
By Jeff Goldman
Risk Taking, Healthcare Marketing, Marketing Strategy
You’re a healthcare marketing director. You’re standing over a table of proposed ads, looking for a few to run in the upcoming months. Most of them are exactly what you would expect: the same message you usually run, the same language and the same visuals.