St. Joseph's Mercy

Branding & Messaging


The Challenge

St. Joseph’s Mercy, based in Hot Springs, AR, was well respected by area residents because of its long-established history in the region. However, due to a number of external issues, it’s brand had taken a hit in the media and its brand image was fragmented and unfocused. Furthermore, there needed to be alignment between any external brand marketing and internal cultural messages that made the brand live in the daily lives of patients and co-workers. St. Joseph’s Mercy needed to revitalize its brand, from the ground up, but that brand had to be believable. It needed to express visible outcomes in terms of an enhanced customer experience.

The Response

Internal focus groups were held to establish the core values and differentiators that motivated St. Joseph’s 2,000 co-workers who functioned as brand ambassadors in the community. Following that insight, creative messaging and positioning “hypotheses” were developed, which were then tested in community focus groups. Simultaneously, a brand audit was conducted to review how the brand expressed itself over the past two years. The compiled findings determined that St. Joseph’s core promise to the community centered on re-establishing two important attributes: 1) The experience and dedication of its professional staff of physicians and nurses; 2) A renewed effort on improving the experience of customers and patients at various touch points of care.

The Results

We created a brand strategy focused on the concept of “experience” - Experience Matters (yours and ours). This high-level brand position was reinforced by very focused customer experience manage- ment initiatives to ensure the authenticity of our message. The campaign was executed consistently through all aspects of internal and external marketing materials, from public relations, to internal adoption posters, to educational events, to TV, radio and print ads, as well as online. Over the course of 18 months, the brand re-positioning has greatly enhanced St. Joseph’s awareness while providing a consistent message for the community and co-workers to internalize.

Services Utilized

  • Product Positioning & Strategy
  • Outsourced VP Marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Branding & Messaging
  • Public Relations and Newsmaking