PR One of Fastest Growing Professions; Especially for the Social Media Savvy

Good news for PR professionals. Employment is expected to increase 24 percent by 2018, making P.R. one of the fastest-growing professions. Those with knowledge of business, strategic communications, research, finance and, most important, how to use technology — especially social media — will have an edge.

Read more at the New York Times.

What is Your Approach to Marketing Leadership? Part 1

Marketing departments emerged in health care organizations in the early 1980s when prospective payment methodologies made it evident that certain clinical programs were more profitable than others. Hospitals began to compete for patients for those services and procedures that produced better financial outcomes. Many of these early marketing programs were administered by existing public relations or community relations functions, and had a strong communications focus. Over the next two decades, marketing practices matured to include other aspects of the discipline such as research, sales and referral development, segmentation, product development and brand building.

Today, marketing management systems differ significantly across health care organizations. Some are expansive, core business functions with strong growth accountabilities aligned to strategic planning, business development, clinical operations and financial management initiatives. ROI expectations center on overall growth, profitability, brand equity and creation of sustainable competitive advantage.

In other health systems, marketing is configured more functionally to support the development and deployment of marketing tactics aimed at research, promotions and sales. Success is measured by research metrics such as increased consumer awareness and preference, by response metrics such as increased call center or web traffic, and by sales metrics such as referrals, ER visits and procedure volumes.

Some hospitals, however, have not evolved at all from those early days when marketing relied on a narrow set of tools (e.g. press releases, health fairs, advertising, newsletters) to promote programs and services. The marketing department orientation is production – number of news releases, advertising campaigns, circulation – making it difficult to link marketing expenditures and activities to business outcomes.

Why such a difference? It can largely be explained by an organization’s approach or orientation to the market which is shaped by a variety of factors including strategic focus, growth objectives, culture or even leadership understanding of the marketing discipline.

In an upcoming post, I'll describe different marketing orientations and the configuration of competencies, staff capabilities, processes and investments that are characteristic of each.

Regaining Trust is Prime Objective for Big Brands

“In the world of branding, trust is the most perishable of assets.” So begins the lead article in Business Week’s September 28, 2009 special report on 100 Best Global Brands. The story here is that consumers have lost considerable trust in brands – and in business overall – in the economic tailspin of corporate greed, recession, job losses and tanking home values.

Not surprisingly, financial services and automobile brands tanked. And other long-respected brands – Starbucks, Sony, Harley-Davidson and Dell dropped in the rankings. Google and Amazon were the big winners, having gained 25% and 22% respectively in brand value since 2008. Other winners included Zara, Nestle, Apple, H&M and Ikea. Coca-Cola still holds the #1 post, followed by IBM (#2) and Microsoft (#3).

Smart CMOs are going on the offensive to restore reputations – and brand value. “Trust and transparency” are key areas of focus according to McDonald’s global chief marketing officer Mary Dillon (McDonald’s rose from #8 to #6 in the rankings). Companies like Ford, American Express, and others are re-engineering their marketing departments to embrace new media and leverage digital tools to listen, reach and engage consumers in new and open forums. They are rediscovering the strategic value of public relations and pumping up PR budgets. Investments in social media are eclipsing other marketing initiatives.

So what can healthcare CMOs take away from this news?

• Brand is a critical lever for growth, profitability and competitive performance
• Consumer values and behaviors toward brands are changing
• Trust in the brand – in the company – is paramount to success
• Reach and frequency may not be as effective as listening and engaging
• Marketing resources are shifting from production and placement to people and places

It’s a great time to watch CMOs that are stepping up as ‘chief brand stewards’ and accepting the charge to lead companies into a new consumer world, restore trust and turn the tide on economic performance. Lots to learn.