Anatomy of Health Care Promotions

In the United States, few industries rival the magnitude and far-reaching impact of health care. In fact, it is the largest industry in the country, having provided 14 million jobs in 2006. The need for medical services is growing along with the average life expectancy, and health care organizations are looking for ways to increase their market share. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the industry to create an additional 3 million jobs by 2016. Between patients and employees, companies see a huge market for health care promotional products.

“The general trend right now in the industry is to go for products that are outside an organization’s realm,” relays Lindsay Hoylman, a marketing manager with Leed’s in New Kensington, Pa. “So health care organizations are using totes, drinkware, stationery and technology to promote their companies, and a tech company may be using a fitness product to promote.” This tactic, she says, makes promos stand out because they are unexpected, and they help portray a company as versatile and multi-layered.

Baby Boomers. As aging baby boomers reach retirement, the market for health care products is growing. Medical advances, as well, lead to more services from health care providers. Along with these developments is an across-the-board quest for better marketing to customers or patients.

“Aprons, Etc. has experienced an explosion in health care related items in recent years, especially with the growing baby boomer movement,” reports Scott Thackston, executive vice president of the Mauldin, S.C.-based company. As this generation ages, Thackston sees a growing marketing need among rehab centers, assisted-living homes, nursing centers, veterans’ hospitals and medical- equipment manufacturers.

Hospitals, too, purchase a large number of promo products, and their two primary audiences are physicians and women, reports Karen Sherrill, director of marketing for Gold Bond in Chattanooga, Tenn. Doctors are key to bringing hospitals more patients because, through referrals and recommendations, physicians typically direct them where to go.

“In addition, the profile of the physician’s base directly affects a hospital’s brand value,” Sherrill adds. “The larger and more prestigious the hospital’s medical staff, the more highly the hospital will be perceived. With this, physician recruiting is a top priority of every hospital.” For this purpose, nice gifts such as desk clocks, golf items and technical gadgets — as well as presentation binders and executive-style pens — are most popular.

Feminine Appeal. Women are also vital to the marketing efforts of the health care industry. “Women are the No. 1 health care decision-makers, responsible for more than 80 percent of health care purchasing decisions,” Sherrill declares. Specifically, she says women ages 35 to 65 who are privately insured are big users of medical services and tend to make medical decisions for family members. “Today, women are influencing the health care decisions for more people than ever,” she says. “As mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and friends, women are often providers of care for those around them and play a significant role in searching out medical information and encouraging their loved ones to seek medical attention.”

While products targeting women are often tailored to gender-specific medical conditions, they should also