The "Brand" New NHS

In stumbling upon an article published back in June about brand perception in the NHS we thought it was extremely topical especially in light of last weekend’s Government cut protests. Many were out in force chanting and waving placards adverse to NHS cuts and reforms amongst other issues.

Images such as this one of a lady in the crowd, who is obviously worried about reforms affecting the ability of our health service to proficiently function, were very poignant.

Results in the article in Marketing Week ‘Why brand perception is important – especially for the NHS’ reported that sadly satisfaction with the NHS has fallen from 70% in 2010 to just 58%. This can have major impacts on how people actually experience their NHS.

Working with both public and private sector bodies over the years we have found that if a brand is recognised with positive connotations then it usually has a knock on effect to the way they actually experience its services.

This creates an interesting situation when it comes to the brand identity of individual CCGs. As a growing number of CCGs are receiving authorisation it is vital that their communities get behind them and support them. The CCG boards primarily need to be respected, trusted and above all satisfy people’s needs.

Small changes such as positive interaction with the public through campaigns, easy to use and maintain websites or consistent messages to the public through PR, social media and printed material can make all the difference. Having done this for many NHS clients, as well as even helping to manage some internal communications to ensure consistency, has definitely seen positive outcomes. A brand is more than a visual matter. It is judged on all kind of factors, not least by behaviour and finding creative and powerful ways to engage and interact with your customers.

A great example of interaction between the public and their health service is when we worked on the behalf of NHS Hull to create the campaign 'Blokes Jokes'.

This was a project aimed to reach men aged 45 and over living in areas of deprivation, who on the whole, rarely discuss health issues or seek medical advice possibly because of the aforementioned reasons. After extensive research we came up with the idea ‘Blokes Jokes’ using two local comedians who wrote and performed materials that were entertaining and, most importantly, communicated serious health messages in a fun, informal way. Taking this approach on the road and performing it in different venues across Hull ensured the campaign messages received over 90% audience recall following the events and even saw clear evidence of changing behaviours.

This is but one example of “brand NHS Hull” taking bold steps to push boundaries and challenge convention.

Now, we’re not talking about total reconstruction surgery but, we believe as CCGs come into being, maybe a few minor procedures could make all the difference in getting the public onside.