Have you ever asked yourself how hospitals in your city seem to be everywhere these days? Here in Charlotte some have commented on how Carolinas Medical Center went from one hospital in the center of the city to a network of centers all across town. There is even a CMC branded facility in a newly built YMCA down by our office. In the last few months hospital administrators have tapped our brand consultancy to provide insights on strategic branding plans.

According to a recent article, there are four ways most hospitals across the country are achieving brand recognition. The first is through specialization. In this scenario focus is placed on building a practice around a very specific niche and all the communications reinforces that area of expertise. If an ailment comes up having to do with that specialty, a properly executed brand message would reinforce how specialization is synonymous with being the best in treating the condition. The Cancer Treatment Centers of America comes to mind in such a scenario.

We have also observed organizations, such as HealthSouth and Kindred, utilizing their master brands across multiple locations. No matter where you go, the same brand seems to remind you who the dominant healthcare player is in the area. Repetition of a brand identity is known to establish high levels of brand recognition under unaided market research. A new building brings with it a new place to expose the name.

Similar to the previous strategy, some medical groups have decided to build a brand in multiple directions. In this method multiple practices across numerous specialty areas are acquired and during the brand transition the previous brand goes away while master brand takes priority. The thought process here is to have your target audience think of you first when they get sick regardless of medical condition.

A fourth option can be illustrated by examining The Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. The two have extended their brand well beyond the physical territory they serve with the establishment of a technology partnership. Mayo has a venture with Microsoft and Cleveland with Google. In this type of collaboration all parties benefit by providing target audiences with an online tool featuring healthcare resources in what is perceived as trusted brand names.

If we think ahead don’t be surprised to hear about future branded partnerships when it comes to the new online personal health records being proposed.

Contributed by Ninh Nguyen

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Next time you’re walking down the drink aisle at the grocery store take a look at the amazing selection of shapes and sizes that the carbonated soft drink industry offers its consumers. What’s that? You can hardly tell the difference from brand’s bottle to the next? Oh . . . that’s because there’s really not any. Please see exhibit A.

Enter Coca-Cola.  The widely-popular beverage company is innovating its packaging with the introduction of a new 2-liter bottle. Coca-Cola decided that it should not be in the same 2-liter bottle as every other brand, which seems like common sense, right? Well, it turns out that the company has actually been offering a wide range of package shapes and sizes overseas, but the North American market is dominated by three packages that we are all familiar with: a 2-liter straight-walled bottle,12-pack of 12-ounce aluminum cans, and a 20-ounce plastic bottle.

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Just flipping on your TV will open your eyes to the plethora of Reality TV Series on our stations these days… but just how real are these shows? According to a recent study, the average sized woman in the United States is approximately 160 pounds and wears size 14 clothing. Last time I checked, you don’t see these average women on TV. Nope, these “reality” TV series are cluttered with women who are all about a size 2…on a “fat” day. In an effort to put the ‘reality’ back into reality TV some television stations have taken a new approach to these reality series. Shows are now receiving names such as Dance Your Ass Off, More to Love, and The Biggest Loser. These television series aim to show the lives of real people, not size 0 or size 2 celebrities.
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Last year, the Concord, NC street that takes hundreds of thousands of racing fans to Lowe’s Motor speedway was re-named Bruton C. Smith Boulevard in honor of the Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner. Next year, the track itself will undergo a name change as well. On Thursday, Lowe’s announced that it will not renew its naming rights for the Concord speedway.

Lowe’s brokered exclusive naming rights with SMI in 1999, making Lowe’s Motor speedway the first major naming-rights deal of a NASCAR track. The partnership has been viewed by many as a success, as the fairly young Lowe’s brand has enjoyed exposure to millions of NASCAR fans for nearly a decade. But, but as priorities and budgets shift to survive in the recession, so too will the marketing resources of the company.

According to a NASCAR press release, SMI owner Bruton Smith expects the track to work to find a new title sponsor. If a new sponsor can’t be found, the track’s name will revert to Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Of course, this is not the only corporate sponsorship to dissolve within the past year. Professional sports across the board are having more trouble holding on to their lucrative deals with companies, specifically those in the financial and automobile industry. With this decline, yet another reflection of a downturned economy, might we see the pendulum swing back to a world of stadiums and fields without corporate monikers?

If so, which sports venues would you like to see returned to their original names?

Contributed by: Maghan Cook