Kid Stuff? Determining the Best Positioning Strategy for Akron Childrens Hospital

As of 2018, Akron Childrens Hospital is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the

United States and ranked among the best childrens hospitals by U.S. News & World

Report. The hospital handles nearly 800,000 patient visits each year. Aaron Powell,

Akron Childrens Hospitals (akronchildrens.org) marketing director, stood to gaze out

the conference room windows onto the two ribbons of train tracks that curled near the

hospital on the north side of this midsized city in northeastern Ohio. He was thinking

about how rival hospitals, such as Akron City Hospital, Akron General Medical Center,

and St. Thomas Hospital, had recently hired marketing directors like himself. The

urgency to advance Akron Childrens Hospitals marketing effort was going to intensify

in the next year.

Im not sure we are getting anywhere in this meeting, Powell thought to himself as

he pushed his chair away from the conference room table and slowly stood up to stretch

his legs. Powells meeting was going into its second hour. In addition to Powell, the

meetings participants were Mark Norton, the hospital operations officer (Powells

boss), and Janet Jones from the Cleveland-based Marcus Thomas communications and

research agency (marcusthomasllc.com). One staff member from finance was there,

along with the soon to be retiring public relations director for the hospital. In the past,

both of these staffers would support whatever Norton proposed or liked. It now looked

like Powell and Jones were on the other side of a divide about how to approach

positioning Akron Childrens Hospital in next years advertising campaign.

To make matters worse, Powell and Jones appeared to be outnumbered, and the tension

in the room was palpable. Let me read the research problem statement all of us revised

in the first hour of our meeting, Jones said. Akron Childrens Hospital board wants

the hospital to become the preferred hospital in the high-growth areas of the region.

Accordingly, we are studying positioning possibilities, so that the board can select the

best positioning for next years communications campaign intended to boost the number

of patient cases 10 percent in the following year. Thats it. Thats what we want,

Norton said. But I dont think we have to pursue a research project with a survey that

just may lead us to reinvent the wheeland for $60,000, too. What wheel is that?

Powell asked, turning away from the window to face Norton. Aaron, you know as well

as I do that this hospital is all about children. Its even in our name, Norton said.

Emphasize the kids. Whatever we do in the media should feature the kids. Just do some

focus groups that will allow Marcus Thomas to get some ideas for advertising about

kids and our hospital. That should only cost about $20,000. But honestly, I am not sure

we even need that.

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Mark, remember that McDonalds tends to emphasize kids, too, but adults are featured

in their advertising most of the time, Powell said. Marcus Thomas needs to cover the

entire range of issues families consider when choosing a hospital for their kid. If we

miss something important, one of the other hospitals in Akron might claim it is the

better hospital when it comes to this. Aaron is making a good point, Jones said.

Right now, we dont know which positioning would help Akron Childrens Hospital

the most. So describe which paths we can pursue now, Norton said. Plan Ado

focus groups only, as you suggested, Jones said. Plan Bdo focus groups with a

follow-on survey. Plan Cdo a survey with follow-on focus groups. And plan Ddo

no research.

Tell me more about each of these, Norton said. In plan A, Marcus Thomas would

conduct four focus groups, with an average of 10 respondents per group, Jones said.

Well ask participants to discuss their experiences while at a hospital. Participants will

be required to be the primary decision makers for health-care decisions within the

family and have a childnewborns to 18-year-oldswith an acute condition and who

have spent at least three consecutive days in a hospital. Because most health-care

decision makers within a family tend to be women, most of the participants will be

female between 25 and 54 years old with one or more children ranging from new-borns

to 18 years old.

Cost? Norton asked. About $20,000, Powell said. Jones continued. In plan B, well

do plan A, plus a field survey to follow up on the issues we identify in the focus groups.

First, well ask about unaided and aided awareness of hospitals in the region. Then,

based on what we learn in the focus groups, we will identify the concepts of three

positioning strategies and ask survey respondents which one they prefer most and which

one they prefer next most. Well be able to statistically determine the degree of

preference among the positioning alternatives.

The three strategies might be, one, Akron Childrens Hospital has doctors who listen

to you, Powell said. Or, two, we know how to meet the unique needs of children, or,

three, we use the latest advances in treating children. Cost? Norton asked again.

About $60,000, Powell said. What about plan C? Why does that make sense?

Norton asked. We can identify the best positioning strategy by con-ducting a survey.

The salient aspects of this positioning strategy to the consumers can then be explored

via focus groups. The cost will be the same as plan B; that is, $60,000, responded

Jones. And plan Dno research. Turn our creative staff loose and hang on for the

ride, Jones said with a wry smile. Norton returned the smile and looked around the

room. Doesnt your firm do the advertising for the Ohio Lottery? Norton asked. With

plan D, we might do better by playing the Ohio Lottery!

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Sensing the humor, everyone in the room laughed together. Finally, tension seemed to

begin dissipating. Norton nodded slowly. Powell nodded, too. However, the questions

Powell was thinking about still remained. Which of the plans would Akron Childrens

Hospital pursueplan A, plan B, plan C, or plan D? If money were invested, would it

be a worthwhile investment? Would the idea of research being a cost (with no

apparent return) persist in the minds of Norton and the other staff members long after

this meeting? What could be done now to help Norton and the other executives view

research as an investment (with an implied return)?

Questions

1. 1) What is the role of marketing research in determining the best positioning strategy for Akron Childrens Hospital

note : next question will be in another post