Westchester Medical Center

Westchester Medical Center (WMC) is an academic Level 1 trauma center in New York’s Hudson Valley region with seven centers of excellence and a top-rated, all-specialty children’s hospital. It was well known as the region’s trauma hospital. It was less well known for the advanced specialty and elective services it provides. Princeton Partners was hired to re-establish its brand as a specialty medical center that handles the most complex tertiary and quaternary medical cases. 

After an in-depth Discovery Session, which entailed consumer research and a detailed analysis of WMC’s marketing and brand presence, it became clear that consumers believed in the hospital’s trauma and emergency services but did not favor it for elective services. 

We needed to position WMC as the hospital of choice for highly complex medical cases in southern New York. 

To reflect the positive changes that were happening, we determined WMC’s Unifying Brand Idea to be “Transforming Healthcare.” Based on this, we developed an integrated communications plan utilizing TV, radio, print, outdoor and digital properties to raise expectations and educate the public about WMC’s sophisticated medical offerings. 

Research conducted following the launch of the campaign showed that it achieved its goal of creating a foundation of trust in and respect for WMC’s unique position in the market as one of the nation’s best hospitals. Most importantly, people were more likely to choose WMC for advanced elective services. Once the campaign was successfully launched using traditional media, we introduced a digital strategy to further engage consumers and other target audiences. Starting with the development and building of a new website, we used social media properties such as Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter; and e-marketing tactics such as e-mail and search, to establish a robust online presence for WMC. This allowed consumers to develop a deep and ongoing relationship with the Hospital. 

The next phase was the development of “Countless Lives,” an extension of the campaign to service lines. Using print, radio, a dedicated website, and WMC’s social media properties, “Countless Lives” tells the patients’ stories and puts a human face on the medical center. 

The award-winning work produced the brand image results intended, and the business results needed. The medical center operates at 100%+ capacity, and leads are being driven to highly profitable service lines.