Our multi-award-winning healthcare brand campaign improved awareness and engagement by aligning ThedaCare’s brand strategy with the health system’s population health approach.
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, ThedaCare, a regional health system in northeast and central Wisconsin, approached the Core team to begin a discovery and definition process that would eventually lead to a new brand. Although the local health system led its market in key metrics, its scores were declining. Large competitors were making prospective patients feel more confident, human and hopeful.
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, ThedaCare was determined to revitalize its brand and protect its market share from its encroaching competitors. We were asked to create a brand “movement” — an internal and external platform for the brand that would align it's team members behind their brand promise and help lead ThedaCare’s communities to greater health and well-being.
Beginning with an internal marketing and communications campaign — Inspiration Starts Here — we demonstrated how each individual team member could and would contribute to the system’s greater purpose and help drive ThedaCare’s mission to create a healthier future for all through population health.
Sharing the idea internally first helped reinforce the vision and purpose and most importantly, created unity and excitement for the future.
To bridge internal and external marketing efforts, we developed the fully integrated "Inspired To" healthcare marketing campaign, featuring seven ThedaCare team members who, through their professional roles and personal passions, serve as an inspiration for their community.
From volunteer work to coaching and mentoring to philanthropy, featuring the real healthcare team members and their passions was an impactful way to make brand storytelling feel authentic, and showed how the system was actively creating a healthier future for all.
Across a variety of media, we helped the ThedaCare team tell stories in their own words and brought them to life with energetic and colorful brand visuals that served as a metaphor for inspiration. Visualized with black and white ad photography shot in local locations, bright color bursts (created with the brand logo color palette) emanated from portraits of each team member, representing how their personal inspiration touches the lives of others.
As part of our lifeinspired brand platform, our goal was to empower individuals across ThedaCare’s communities with guided, actionable steps to improve their well-being and use inspiration to grow the movement. The “What If I Told You” integrated brand building campaign showed how small moments have the power to spark meaningful change.
Using vibrant imagery and thought-provoking, invitational messaging in external advertising encouraged our audience to make positive changes in their life and be the start of a healthier future for all — an inspiration for others.
Over 4 years and 3 strategically phased campaigns developed under the lifeinspired brand campaign platform, we helped ThedaCare strengthen its brand position in a way that accurately communicates its unique value proposition and organizational purpose to the communities it’s served for over 100 years. We also helped align the brand and marketing strategies with ThedaCare’s population health strategy and vision of a healthier future for all.
increase in brand equity over a single year
improvement in brand attraction — helping the organization dominate its largest market (Appleton) across all brand health metrics
The lifeinspired brand campaign has also received numerous awards for creative healthcare marketing, including a platinum distinction for Best Integrated Marketing Campaign in the 2024 eHealthcare Leadership Awards, and the prestigious “Best of Show” Award from the Healthcare Advertising Awards.
Through our partnership with ThedaCare, we’ve highlighted the health system’s commitment to the needs of its community — and inspired action.
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