Transcription:
Understanding Community Memorial’s Place in our Community

Maggie McKay (Host): When you need to go to the hospital, their brand is probably not the first thing you're thinking about, but a lot of thought and care goes into branding, like research, considering the community's needs and more. Jamie Maites is Vice President of Marketing and Development for Community Memorial Healthcare, she's gonna talk to us today about understanding Community Memorial's place in our c. This is Wise and well presented by Community Memorial Healthcare. I'm Maggie McKay. Welcome Jamie. It's wonderful to speak with you today and, we can't wait to talk to the person who is responsible for community memorial's brand.

Jamie Maites: Thank you so much, Maggie, for a lovely introduction.

Maggie McKay (Host): Absolutely. So tell us, as a longtime marketing professional, how do you go about identifying the right brand and marketing strategy for a healthcare organization?

Jamie Maites: That's a great question and there's so much you have to think about when you want to begin the journey, to develop a new brand and positioning for an organization, and specifically when you're doing that, in a very localized market. So for Community Memorial Healthcare, we're looking at the Ventura County region specifically, and every market is really unique. You have to look at the communities in your area, the consumers that live there, what health resources are available and who makes them available to the community.

So who's out there offering services? What are the demographics of the people living in your community? How does the organization, that you are working in operate and function? And are their goals for the future?

Maggie McKay (Host): How did you go about determining the right brand positioning for Community Memorial?

Jamie Maites: We started with a goal and our goal was to develop. , an organization-wide platform that would help us to create a sustainable and differentiating brand to raise awareness and preference for our health system in our community. And when doing that, we had to think about a few things. One, whatever we were gonna come up with had to really resonate with our consumers and our residents. It had to be something that was true to our organization and that we could actually act on and deliver to the community.

It needed to be different than what other in the market were doing to make sure that we really stood out and we wanted it to be something that our own staff and physicians could support and feel really empowered in owning, so that they could help be a brand ambassadors out in the community. And to do all of that, we had to start with research. So we kicked things off. Internal and external research that included things like one-on-one interviews, focus groups with community members of various ages and genders. We also did online surveys with some of our internal audiences.

We did a competitive assessment in our market, and we also did an internal review of what was happening at Community Memorial because again, we wanted to. come up with something that gave us the runway to grow into, but we also didn't wanna overpromise and put a message out there that we wouldn't be able to fulfill.

Maggie McKay (Host): Right. And what did the research you conducted show?

Jamie Maites: A few different things came up in the research time and time again internally, there were two main points. The first was that Community Memorial Healthcare is universally celebrated for being collaborative, inclusive, and transparent. We are true to our core values, and we really wanna do the right thing for our staff, our patients, and community. On the external side, so people who don't work within the organization or at the organization. We heard that people intentionally choose to live in Ventura County. They love the neighborly feel, but also that there's this laid back and vibrant lifestyle here.

They also said that they were looking for a true partner and an advocate in their care. Somebody who would really listen to them. And then the third key point. , which, helped to drive quite a bit of the work that we're gonna be doing this year and beyond, is that there was a lot of confusion there. There is a lot of confusion around what entities are part of our health system specifically. We've had so many different names, and styles of signage that have been out in the community and, materials.

That it's caused a lot of confusion and people really don't know all that is Community Memorial Healthcare, and we're hoping that our new brand and new logo will help folks better identify who we are.

Maggie McKay (Host): And based on other places or markets you've been in, were there any surprises or unique differences shown in the research?

Jamie Maites: So, like I said, initially, every market is unique and you wanna be really aware of the market that you're in when you're creating a new brand. One of the things that came up here is how we emphasize technology. In my past, I worked for health system in Silicon Valley, and there was a heavy focus on the technology and the robot itself and the instrument and the tool that was being used. Whereas here, what we heard from our community members is that they really cared more, how is this going to help me?

Less of what is machine and more of how is it going to help me get better?

Maggie McKay (Host): . How does all this influence what you will do to communicate with the community? The health system serves?

Jamie Maites: This research and work is really the foundation for our new brand logo and name.

Maggie McKay (Host): And Jamie, what should we expect to see in the market from all this work so far?

Jamie Maites: We're really excited about the philosophy campaign that we launched to showcase our new name and brand. The messages are going to be seen on tv, heard over the radio, in print advertising and newspapers and magazines throughout the county. We've also launched a new website. in what we call outdoor will be on the sides of buses and digital billboards.

Maggie McKay (Host): Wow. So you've got it covered. Can we see any of this on your website and what is it?

Jamie Maites: Absolutely. One of the biggest changes that is being made available right away is our new website, which is mycmh.org. It's being completely redone, all new content, new design, new functionality. It combines more than 10 prior websites and provides access to information and services across our entire system, our hospitals, our health centers, our physicians and foundations. All in one place. We've got redirect setup, so if you go to an old url, you'll be redirected to our new site, and we're really just excited to finally offer one single digital front door to Community Memorial Healthcare.

Maggie McKay (Host): That sounds amazing and very useful. Especially when you need a hospital, it's so important to have a friendly website because not everybody is tech savvy.

Jamie Maites: No, they're impossible to navigate sometimes. So, you know, simplifying information as much as you can is really the key.

Maggie McKay (Host): Agreed. Thank you so much for making the time to talk with us today, Jamie. Is there anything else you'd like to add in closing?

Jamie Maites: It's my pleasure. Thank you for your time.

Maggie McKay (Host): That's Jamie Maites, vice President of Marketing and Development at Community Memorial Healthcare. To find out more, please visit mycmh.org. That's mycmh.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is Wise and Well presented by Community Memorial Healthcare. I'm Maggie McKay. Thanks for listening.