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MARKET
TO MARKET
THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE Affordable Care Act
was heralded by some as a way
to improve access to healthcare;
by others, it was decried as
another example of bureaucratic
bloat. Regardless of
where patients fall on
the political spectrum,
the reality is that
healthcare needs and
the industry that
serves them continue
to grow at a healthy
pace. As a result,
healthcare profession-
als are taking on more
responsibility for com-
municating services and benefits
to more patients—i.e. cus-
tomers—and using promotional
products to deliver the message.
Wendy Franklin, MAS, a St.
Louis, Missouri-based promo-
tional marketing expert for dis-
tributor Geiger (UPIC:
GEIGER), has been helping her
healthcare clients deliver mes-
sages through promotional solu-
tions for more than 20 years.
“Healthcare is intensely competi-
tive. We have two very large sys-
tems here that employ 20,000
people each, so marketing is
extremely important to them,”
she says.
Franklin says her clients
most often use promotional
items for two distinct audi-
ences—community members and
facility staff. “I do as
much for employees—
health and wellness,
recognition—as for
community out-
reach,” she says.
One community
outreach program, for
which Franklin devel-
oped a kit of message-
driving promotional
items, earned her a
2016 PPAI Pyramid Award.
Her client partnered
with a pharmaceutical
company to work
with expectant
mothers who opted in to a pro-
gram that helped them maintain
a healthy pregnancy.
“The campaign was geared
toward providing calming and
relaxation tech-
niques to
reduce the
mother’s stress level. The promo-
tional kit we developed included
a fragrance candle, workout
towel and journal for recording
exercise and diet,” she explains.
Franklin believes healthcare
is an industry that holds great
potential for promotional con-
sultants. To build business with
clients, she recommends distrib-
utors seek out human resources
and marketing professionals
working within the system.
“The decision makers can be
different employees, depending
on the organization, but the key
areas I would first contact are
human resources and market-
ing. From there, just ask for
referrals.
“I think it’s easier to
build a client base in health-
care than in other indus-
tries,” she adds. “But you
have to work to differentiate
yourself because, chances
are, they’re already buying
[promotional products] from
somebody. When I’m train-
ing salespeople, I will always
advise them to find health-
care clients. Any healthcare-
related business is going to be
intensely competitive.”
THE EXPANDING HEALTHCARE SECTOR WELCOMES PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
By Jen Alexander
MARKETING
MODERN MEDICINE
40 •
PPB
• JUNE 2016
HEALTHCARE
GROW
Wendy Franklin,
MAS,