One of the most satisfying applications of corporate brand strategy is in helping hospitals define their proposition and orient themselves to a promise that sets them apart from others in their networks. This is far more than renaming, re-skinning or capital campaign sloganeering. In
When I got tired of asking my clients “who are you?” I started asking them “why are you?”. What’s the reason you are the way you are and do what you do? Then things started to get interesting. I’ve found that one of the best ways to answer that question is to go back to the earliest beginnings of the organization - the moment of conception if you will – to understand the formative values and beliefs. More often than not, those values are still operating in some measure, deep in the reflexive culture, and may be the most authentic thing to build the brand on. The creation story, linked to the present, can be a powerful credibility builder, especially inside the organization where employees are the first to apply the “stink test” to things like a new brand promise. (Read on …)