{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"34: How Storytelling Begets Healthy Marketing for UCHealth","description":"It\u2019s not easy to get a breakthrough marketing strategy off the ground; it\u2019s even more difficult to kick start a new idea in a highly regulated industry. This roadblock didn\u2019t stop Manny Rodriguez, CMO of UCHealth, from developing an eye-opening campaign. Through patient-centric storytelling, he managed to help the university hospital network invigorate its message. This tender approach isn\u2019t just business for Rodriguez. He is a leukemia survivor who underwent many of the types of treatments his team now promotes. Rodruguez\u2019s healthcare marketing philosophy goes against the grain. Hospitals and clinics often showcase their technologies and services in advertisements, much to Rodriguez\u2019s chagrin. \u201cI just believe healthcare marketers in general have lost sight of what matters,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten away from the fact that what we do is about the patient.\u201d Instead of explaining how great UCHealth\u2019s treatments are, Rodriguez set out to reach patients on a more personal level. Rodriguez wanted his UCHealth\u2019s advertisements to focus on clients and their experiences. Being a leukemia survivor, he understands the pain patients have to deal with. Rodriguez says, \u201cMost health care brands look at themselves as the hero. We believe that our patients are the heroes.\u201d UCHealth decided to let its heroes tell their stories from their own perspectives. The result was a series of heartfelt video testimonies given by actual UCHealth patients. You can\u2019t help but cry during these 90-second flashes of affection. As Rodriguez notes, \u201cYou really feel, hear, and sense the heartache and the emotion and the feeling in the story.\u201d Although the scripts are written internally, the patients themselves deliver the lines. Who else could? One of the biggest challenges Rodriguez has faced is advertising services that have such a negative connotation. \u201cNobody wants what I have,\u201d Rodriguez says. \u201cNobody is sitting there going, \u2018I can\u2019t wait to have my liver removed or my heart surgery!\u2019\u201d The UCHealth marketing team remedies this problem by delivering what Rodriguez calls a \u201clifestyle brand.\u201d The CMO continues, \u201cI want to provide you [with] content and resources, and talk to you in a way that prevents you from being broken more than selling you a service when you\u2019re broken.\u201d Warmth is at the heart of the strategy, giving patients hope and comfort in UCHealth\u2019s message. Enhancing patient experience plays a big part in the brand\u2019s marketing strategy. When someone goes to a hospital, obviously the biggest goal is to leave healthy. For Rodriguez, the peripherals of a hospital visit also matter greatly. Elements like staff friendliness, parking accessibility, and cafeteria food quality make a difference in the patient\u2019s experience. \u201cIt\u2019s the softer side of healthcare that I think we\u2019re looking at as an organization\u2014How do you build the softer side?\u201d Rodriguez wonders. UCHealth answers this question by staffing itself with sympathetic employees. While health remains the top priority, patient experience is still important. It\u2019s been a bumpy ride for Rodriguez, as his own encounter with terminal illness has driven him to help other patients in need. He says, \u201cBeing a survivor of ultimately a disease that takes many lives is a motivator for everything I do.\u201d Rodriguez recalls the personal experiences he\u2019s had with medical professionals\u2014some great, and some not so great. Ultimately, those instances have given him the drive to connect with patients through heartfelt passion and understanding. (These show notes were prepared by Jay Tellini.)   ","author_name":"Renegade Marketers Unite: Top Rated Podcast for CMOs","author_url":"http:\/\/renegademarketing.com\/podcast","html":"