6 Tips on Rebranding a Community Hospital Under a Health System
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When smaller hospitals are rebranded under a large health system, there may be concerns that the hospitals will lose their personal touch and become more corporate or distant. For Flint, Mich.-based McLaren Health Care and its 10 Michigan hospitals, however, that was not the case. In 2012, it changed the hospitals’ names, rebranding the entire organization under the McLaren name and logo. For example, Bay Regional Medical Center in Bay City became McLaren Bay Region, Central Michigan Community Hospital in Mount Pleasant became McLaren Central Michigan and McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint became McLaren Flint. Although their names changed, their commitment to patients remained.
Here are six tips for ensuring community hospitals retain their connection to the community when undergoing a brand change under a large health system.
1. Do market research. McLaren conducted focus groups and other market research to determine community members’ reactions to a possible name change. The result was overwhelmingly positive, which was a major factor in McLaren’s decision to move ahead with the rebranding. “The McLaren brand had been growing for some time, so we had good brand equity built into that name,” says Kevin Tompkins, vice president of marketing at McLaren. “However, in many cases, people weren’t aware their local hospital was part of the McLaren system.” Read 2-5 by clicking here.
