2015 MarCom Award Winner

For the fourth consecutive year, Point Across Media has been recognized for outstanding healthcare video in the MarCom Awards competition. The MarCom Awards are one of the most prestigious honors for marketing and communication professionals. We're proud to have the work we do be so well received by a panel of our peers.

This year's winning entry was a video we produced for the Puget Sound Institute of Pathology. Pathologists are often the unseen members of the team in the fight against cancer. But their work comes at the very beginning. They are tasked with analyzing tissue samples to determine if a patient has cancer. Here is their story.

Marketing and the Reluctant Physician

“You know, I’m really nervous. I don’t think I’m going to be very good.”

“I don’t understand why the marketing department is asking me to do this.”

These are the kinds of objections we sometimes hear from physicians at video shoots. They are natural responses, especially when you are asking someone to do something that is outside of their comfort zone.

The nervous physician usually warms up when we start having a conversation. A good producer makes it easy for them to lose sight of the camera and lights. The physician discovers they don’t have to carry the show. We find most physicians actually enjoy talking about what they do and why they do it.

Explaining the purpose of the video to the physician is an important part of creating a successful interview. Once a physician understands where they fit in the overall hospital marketing strategy, they are more likely to buy in to the project.

Video profiles of individual physicians are an effective way to feature the wide range of medical services available to patients.

Video and the Content Conversation in Healthcare Marketing

When I talk with hospital marketing directors and managers, a lot of conversation steers around the word “content.” How can we create content, how do we place our content, etc. Since we specialize in producing visual content for healthcare companies, the “content conversation” is right up our alley.

Content marketing is all about providing the consumer with something they want or need. Stephen Moegling of Franklin Street wrote a detailed summary on the role of content marketing in healthcare. Read it here.

Video is the perfect solution for a hospital or physician group looking for content. It is unique. It belongs to you. It is engaging. It is memorable. But it has to be done right to be effective.

Here is a typical scenario. A consumer is trying to find a new primary care physician. After checking what is covered by their insurance plan, they end up on the “Find A Doctor” page of a local hospital or clinic website. There they see a list of potential physicians. Click on one and up comes the physician’s photo, resume and contact. Now the consumer is expected to use that limited information to select the medical professional who will treat them.

There are some hospitals that have realized adding video to a physician’s website profile can help prospective patients make a choice. Instead of the still photo, the consumer can hear from the physician and see the physician interact with other patients in a video. Video allows the consumer to make a more informed choice.