Is it too much for the average New York commuter to see amputated legs linked to a soda?

While on their way to the Super Bowl parade on Tuesday morning, Giants fans in New York City were being reminded of one of the most dangerous diseases of our time — diabetes. It is among the most common health conditions in the United States, with 20 million Americans diagnosed to date. The cost to our country? A staggering $174 billion.Read full post...

Don't forget about Gen X when you're planning your next hospital marketing campaign.

What about the Xers? So much of the healthcare marketing we see now is geared towards the Boomers. Boomer this, Boomer that—Boomers even have their own health conditions named for them, like “Boomeritis.”  How old do the members of the Breakfast Club have to be before they become a target audience for your hospital service lines?

Here’s a tip if you are going to start messaging to Generation X, leave the Boomer-speak at the door, a whole other language is required.Read full post...

With such massive price tags, these commercials better deliver.

On February 5 NBC will broadcast the epic rematch between the Giants and Patriots. But maybe your team didn’t make it to the big game. Will you still watch Super Bowl XLVI? Of course you will. You’ll watch for the same reason about 54% of viewers do — the commercials.

On one night each year the titans of marketing and advertising attempt to wow us with about 50 minutes of the most expensive commercials on television. NBC has sold out all commercial airtime for the big game, reporting that the average cost this year for a 30-second spot is $3.5 million, with some time slots costing as much as $4 million. That’s a 16 to 25% hike from the $3 million average cost last year. With such massive price tags, these commercials better deliver.Read full post...

The physician shortage continues, and 2012 will be even more competitive.

2011 saw increased demand for a limited supply of physicians in hospitals and primary care practices. 2012 will be even more competitive. Here are the top four issues we predict will have the greatest impact on recruiting success:

4. We’ll recruit through mobile devices.

Doctors are on the go and using smart phones more than ever. Emails and direct mail campaigns can’t keep pace. Extend your reach with instantly accessible messages — make sure they’re easy to look at and easy to read!Read full post...

The problem isn't "too many clicks" — it's "too many wrong clicks".

On the cartoon show The Jetsons, Jane Jetson is a full-time housewife (although the show was set in the future, it was written in the ’60s). She would push a button, and a robot vacuum cleaner would pop out to clean the rug or mechanical arms would place a fully cooked meal onto the table. That is until, in one episode, she gets “buttonitis” — stress from pushing too many buttons. Ridiculous — or is it?Read full post...

My word is invalid?!

Like Alec Baldwin, I’m addicted to Words with Friends. I can’t help myself. When I see a row of jumbled letters I get a rush of excitement and a compulsion to create the best words I can out of those letters. I’ll challenge people on Facebook that I don’t normally talk to just so I can feed my craving with minimal waiting between plays. In fact, I have a game going on right now against my favorite cousin, who lives in Brazil.Read full post...

Engage visitors in relevant conversation to bolster existing client relationships.

The top 35 banks on Facebook reach a mere 0.6% of their base, according to a study by Retail Bank International. “If you exclude the three top-performing banks, the average drops to one in every 525 customers – only 0.2% of their base.”

The numbers point to three interesting challenges financial institutions face in crafting their social media outreach. First, not everyone who “likes” your page is or will become a customer. Second, measuring your outreach effort is more complex than counting friends. Third, lenders are missing countless opportunities to engage valued audiences.Read full post...

Personalize your pitches, and give journalists what they need.

At the 2011 PRSSA National Conference in October, 1,200 students came together in Orlando, Florida, for a weekend full of learning about public relations, professionalism, social media, creative design and much more. In the midst of all of our sessions and events, one topic stood out above the rest — and no, it wasn’t about how to tweet or develop a Facebook strategy. It was about good ol’ fashioned media relations.Read full post...

Differentiate, brand, and build trust were some key takeaways from the PRSSA National Conference.

Picture this. You’re standing in a room with a thousand aspiring young public relations professionals. On your left, there are students eagerly tweeting away. On your right, there are students impatiently waiting to hear from the keynote speaker of the day. You move from room to room to hear more amazing speakers educate you on any type of PR — nonprofit, agency, healthcare, global, etc. Top that off with some sessions on media training, social media and crisis communications, and you are officially in PR heaven.Read full post...

"Perception is Reality" was this year's theme for the PRSSA National Conference.

You know that “aha!” moment? You’re brushing your teeth when a great new pitch idea suddenly pops into your brain, or luxuriating in a bubble bath when the perfect event is fully realized in your mind. Imagine how it would feel if these sparks of genius lasted two hours: complete euphoria. Mind-blowing. Life-changing. Welcome to the PRSSA National Conference 2011.Read full post...

The UD chapter of the PRSSA has come a long way in the past two years.

If you had told me a year ago that I would have been presenting at the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) National Conference, I wouldn’t have believed you. Two years ago PRSSA was not what it is today. Frankly, it was a pretty ineffective organization, filled with inactive, uncommitted members. People knew so little about it that most students probably could not have guessed what “PRSSA” even stood for.Read full post...

In a world of 24-hour information, quality PR work is crucial.

When the Baltimore Colts moved out of town under the cover of darkness in 1984, the team pretty much cemented its place in the Bad PR Moves Hall of Fame. But last week, Bally Total Fitness took a page out of the Colts’ playbook anyway, completing a sale of 171 of its clubs to competitor LA Fitness — without telling its members. Other than a vague, one-paragraph statement on both companies’ websites, and two days’ notice of an early closing on November 30, gym members were given no information about the sale, or what it would mean for them.Read full post...