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Case Study: Walsall Manor Hospital
Our client
Our client is Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust. Formed in April 2001 they are anacute health provider with over 3,200 staff and 560 beds.
We've been working together since 2009.
The brief
Choice is a great thing. It creates diversity, difference and competition. It's what brands depend upon and it's a luxury we're used to having. But not so much with healthcare. With the advent of patient choice hospitals need to start behaving more and more like consumer brands. The customer journey has never been more relevant and driving footfall is King.
Walsall Manor Hospital was an old Victorian institution and the public perception was poor. But with a brand new £170 million building and a turnaround in service delivery, the hospital was ready for a new brand and launch campaign.
Our approach
Working with the NHS, we quickly saw that stakeholder engagement was going to be crucial.
We kicked off the project with our initial strategy stage. This involved 9 one to one interviews with hand picked personnel, from the CEO to the pharmacy department. We then conducted an in depth competitor audit to see what the competition had done in response to patient choice and went out on to the streets of Walsall to guage current perceptions. Using the key themes from our research we created a bespoke workshop. This session was invaluable to identifying the true values of the organization and the unique attributes that makes Walsall special and different.
Once we had the brand strategy we could start to deploy our tactics to position Walsall in the market. This involved a visual and verbal identity that was then launched through a comprehensive outdoor and press campaign.
An internal engagement programme and refresh of the website are the next steps on our journey with Walsall Manor Hospital.
The solution
Walsall is an insular and parochial place with a strong sense of community. This sat at the heart of our strategy and creating a sense of inclusivity and ownership was the main driver.
Concept rationale
From personal and individual care to partnering with schools, local authorities and the press, this is about making a difference for each individual and the wider community. It's about the small things that we do everyday but also the big initiatives that make Walsall Manor Hospital visible in the wider community.
Verbal identity rationale
'One' is a unifying idea that brings people together and makes them feel involved. It's a rallying cry that creates a sense of belonging and brings people together towards a common purpose. It also speaks of the one to one care that patients receive at the Manor and will help drive the commitment towards improving the patient experience.
Visual identity rationale
By putting the 'm' and the 'w' of Walsall Manor Hospital at the heart of the identity we send out a confident message that makes the brand instantly recognisable. Because the letters reflect each other they form a natural pattern when repeated, creating a sense of unification where the whole relies on the sum of its parts. Each letter is as important as the next to create an unbreakable circle.
The work
The result
The hospital launch has been a real success and the phased roll out of buildings opening have been on schedule and without hitch. The new brand represents the new start and has been well received by staff and community alike. We are watching the ongoing roll out with our client over the coming months.
What they said
"Walsall Manor Hospital worked with Reform Marketing to develop a new brand for the hospital. With a new hospital opening to replace some of our current facilities we wanted to take the opportunity to develop a fresh, clean brand which would take the organisation forward. Laura and Collette ran a brand workshop for key members of staff and did a great job of making people who have never done anything like this understand what we were aiming for, they brought out the creativity in everyone there and by the end of the workshop we had come to a clear decisions about how we wanted to move forward.
Following on from that they have developed for us a fresh new brand which all our stakeholders like, and have worked hard with us in bringing to fruition an advertising campaign in very challenging timescales.
I'd like to thank them for being very thorough in their work as well as bring to the Manor Hospital the creativity that we needed. We look forward to working with them in the future."
Fiona Pendleton
Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing - Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust
Find out more
Get in touch to find out more about our healthcare credentials/digital marketing credentials.
Reform Marketing has built great credentials working in the healthcare sector. Working in the public and healthcare sector requires an ability to accommodate and manage the needs of a wide array of stakeholders and it's important to understand and respect the pressures and challenges these people face in their roles.
