Listen to Your Heart: Women at Risk

Integrated Communications / Consumer Services / Category 15B

Washington Hospital Center (WHC), the largest hospital in the Washington region, offers one of the nation's busiest heart programs that attracts physicians and patients from around the world. Yet consumer research showed that many in the nation's capital were unfamiliar with the hospital and did not recognize WHC's international reputation in cardiac care. Our planning department also determined that there was significant room for market share growth in both cardiology and cardiac surgery. For these reasons, we chose to build a super "heart brand" for WHC in the region. However, we needed a dynamic platform to capture the public interest and break through the enormous Washington information clutter.

After personal interviews with over 25 cardiac physicians and extensive research on the subject, we selected "women and heart disease" as that platform. Research showed that women did not recognize their risk of heart disease and were not receiving proper treatment, even though heart disease is the number one killer of women. In addition, we determined that no other organization could claim this issue as its own. In November 1996, we launched a 3-year campaign called Listen to Your Heart: Women at Risk that integrated TV and radio advertising, association and corporate partnerships, congressional relations, media and community outreach to educate women about their risks from this deadly disease.

Prior to the campaign, we conducted consumer and primary care physician research, interviewed 250 doctors, requested assessments from our planning department about market share and demographics, compiled secondary research done by other organizations, and conducted a media analysis to determine what, if any, press coverage existed on the issues surrounding women and heart disease. Several points were critical in our program's development and implementation:

While WHC was recognized as the best for treating heart disease by 15.4% of those surveyed, our physicians wanted this percentage to increase, and our planning department wanted to increase the use of our services in both cardiology and cardiac surgery.

In a women's health survey conducted for us by Yankelovich, women listed breast cancer and stress as more significant health concerns than heart disease. A fall 1995 Gallup survey conducted for the American Heart Association, showed that four out of five women did not recognize heart disease as the leading cause of death, despite the fact that 500,000 women die of cardiac-related diseases each year.

A national survey of primary care doctors conducted for us by Gallup showed that two-thirds did not recognize the difference between men's and women's symptoms of heart disease. These results became the major news hook we used to launch our campaign.

A media analysis indicated that for every three articles about breast cancer in the country's major newspapers and magazines, there was only one about heart disease. And of those articles, less than one-third mentioned women. Media potential was strong.

Audiences: Primary audience - women over 45, the age when women's risk of heart disease increases. Secondary audiences - women between 20 and 45, community, policy and political leaders. Geographic focus: mid-Atlantic region.

Goals: to generate greater awareness among women in the region about their risk of heart disease; to establish WHC as the mid-Atlantic's leader on this subject; to develop a momentum-building campaign launch that would ensure future growth of the campaign, and position the hospital as a resource for the media, community, legislative and policy leaders; and to increase referrals to our physicians (private practice), and ultimately to our heart program.

Strategies: One of our first steps in the planning process was to establish a physician-based Advisory Committee to provide guidance as we prepared the health messages, developed education programs and implemented our comprehensive launch. Buy-in from members of this committee was also crucial to the campaign's success. They would serve as its core for media interviews, community seminars and testimony.

Our second step was to establish a partnership with the area's top-rated TV news stations. Through this partnership, their highly regarded female news anchor served as our campaign spokesperson on eight PSAs that they produced over three years. Our partnership also included participation in the station's extensive Health Expo - attended by 60,000 people annually - and WHC's name attached to Expo promotions. This arrangement was crucial to our efforts to establish momentum and a high profile for the campaign.

1) We developed an eye-catching, unique and informative packet called the Women's Heart Health Kit to serve as the call-to-action for the TV ads, radio spots and all of other promotions.

2) Every campaign publication and promotion included the phone number for our Consumer Resource and Physician Referral Department, which codes and enters all callers into a data base. Following callers through our inpatient and outpatient system was critical to evaluation our campaign.

3) We developed a launch event that truly did "break through the clutter." At a morning press conference, we announced the disturbing results of our primary care physician survey. A panel discussion and luncheon for women leaders featuring best-selling author Gail Sheehy followed. The survey results generated press coverage beyond our expectations and the momentum we needed to build a high-profile campaign. We were the lead story on ABC World News Tonight, and the coverage continued on Good Morning America and the Today Show the next day. Every major news organization eventually covered the story, and we spent the next 6 months responding to inquires from women's magazines and talk shows.

4) During the next 2 _ years we coordinated education seminars for women and continuing medical education programs for physicians; established partnerships with the American Heart Association, Pfizer, inc., a local women's health club, and a major referring hospital; worked with Rep. Maxine Waters' office to ensure passage of her women and heart disease legislation and co-hosted a women's health fair on Capitol Hill; provided information to hospital employees through newsletters and bulletin boards; scheduled targeted speaking engagements for our doctors throughout the region at embassies, health clubs, churches, community events and other hospitals; developed a radio campaign for Valentine's Day and several print ads to promote community programs; helped coordinate a first-of-its-kind roundtable for physicians focused on research in women and heart disease; wrote s weekly heart column for the Sunday edition of the area's largest suburban newspaper; participated in NBC4's annual Health and Fitness Expo at the Washington Convention Center; and worked with every major women's magazine and news organization on women and heart disease articles.

Through the campaign, we have achieved results related to each of our original campaign goals:

WHC's recognition as the area's best for treating heart disease went up 5 percentage points, from 15.4% to 20.4%, and we are the clear leader for treating women with heart disease with 28% of those surveyed mentioning WHC. The next closest hospital received 11% of the response.

The number of women receiving cardiac care at WHC increased 35% from 1995 to 1998. In actual numbers, this translates to 4,325 women in 1998 compared to 3,197 women in 1995.

Total cardiac discharges (men and women) increased 29% in the same period, establishing that our women and heart disease campaign has had an impact on our heart branding efforts overall.

Nearly 10,000 women called to request a Women's Heart Health Kit. Some of these women have since become patients at WHC, resulting in $3 million in revenue.

Our campaign launch resulted in national and international press coverage. To date, every major women's magazine has included WHC in a story on women and heart disease, and the campaign has generated more than $2.4 million in media coverage.

In a recent national survey of women that we commissioned, we asked whether women's symptoms are different from men's. Nationally, 27% correctly said "yes," while in the local sample, 46% responded positively, indicating that one of the key messages and goals of our campaign was a resounding success.

More than 300 physicians responded to our direct mail package, requesting women and heart disease materials for their offices, the largest such response in the hospital's experience.