Branding Cities & Institutions

Branding of the Kaplan Medical Center – the full story

Background

Kaplan Hospital was established in 1953 to provide medical services to the local population. In the beginning, the hospital had a positive image and boasted centers of excellence on a nationwide scale. With the advent of competition in public medicine and with adjacent medical centers becoming more prevalent, the public and professional entities lost their faith in the Kaplan Medical Center. 500 thousand residents of the region, who sought the medical services of the Kaplan Medical Center in the past - tended to prefer other hospitals.

Research and Examination of Strategic Alternatives

At the onset of the branding process, Shir & Spitzer conducted comprehensive research that included: examination of the local medicine market; a review of global trends in public medicine; surveys (qualitative and quantitative), comprehensive interviews; public surveys and more. Later on, based on the findings, potential strategic plans were explored.

Among the alternatives up for discussion were strategic plans to transform Kaplan Hospital into an international medical center (via collaborations with diverse centers of excellence worldwide), as well as plans to transform Kaplan Medical Center into a specialized hospital (by empowering the Medical Center’s current successful centers of excellence).

An examination of the alternatives included the creation of an interdisciplinary leadership team comprised of physicians, public officials, intellectuals and academicians, former mayors and more. The leadership team conducted feasibility and effectiveness studies related to the suggested alternatives. Finally, the team unanimously decided upon the strategic plan to transform the hospital into a center of medical excellence when proximity is of the essence (“Medical excellence at your doorstep”).
 

In Practice, Results and Achievements

Slogan:
Kaplan – close care

Vision:
To provide excellent medical services when proximity is of the essence

Rationale:
Even in an age of "mega hospitals" and competition, the proximity of the medical center often has meaning, whether in terms of medical emergency or in terms of convenience. In these cases, the public will prefer to use the services of a nearby hospital, as long as the services it provides are excellent.

The implementation components
In order to realize the vision, four task forces were created and worked closely with Shir & Spitzer to define the added values derived from the selected strategy and to create action plans which will match the spirit of the brand:
1. Treatment partnership team – creating continuity and a treatment partnership between the patient and his family, the community doctors and the physicians at Kaplan Medical Center.
2. Emergency medicine team – developing and improving medical services whereby proximity to the Medical Center is of the essence.
3. Close to heart team – developing a compassionate approach to the patient based on the perception that the patient is a client and human being who is in charge of his mind & body.
4. Close, available and accessible team – actual accessibility and service accessibility to the client inside the hospital and out.

Read more about the teams work >

Rebranding, advertising the brand and ensuring fine public relations – everything matters, but without galvanizing and recruiting the people that comprise the organization, it is impossible to bolster the brand and make it strong, powerful and successful. So how is it done?
Read More about “Close Care Medicine” in the wards of Kaplan Medical Center.

In addition to the team work, Shir & Spitzer created a logo, a unique font, a visual and verbal language and a PR system that matches the brand perception.

See also: Kaplan Medical Center Brand Book

Shir & Spitzer are currently preparing an ad campaign that combines the spirit of the brand and the selected strategic direction.

Branding Results

1. A comparative survey conducted by Clalit Health Services found that the emergency room at Kaplan medical center was rated highest in terms of customer satisfaction – a leap from last to first place.
2. In the wards where the new management routines were implemented and service workshops were conducted, there was a significant improvement in the relationships among the staff (doctors, nurses and administrative secretaries) and overload surveys that were conducted indicated a significant change for the better.
3. The brand vision was assimilated in the hospital’s master plan.
4. There was an improvement in the quality of service to patients and staff.
5. Feedback from community and regional doctors indicated: An improvement in the customer service array; An improvement in the availability of the specialist physicians in the hospital to the community doctors; Increasing awareness of the community doctors and the public as to the centers of excellence at Kaplan; A decrease in waiting times; Feedback from the community indicates that “things are happening at Kaplan”.