ECHO Colorado
INDUSTRY: Healthcare / Medical / Public Health
LENGTH OF ENGAGEMENT: Ongoing client since 2016
SCOPE OF WORK: Research, brand strategy, positioning, rebranding/marketing campaign, corporate brochure, email templates, trade show booth, corporate ID system, poster and website creation and development
PROJECT OVERVIEW:
ECHO Colorado came to us with a desire to overhaul its organization’s marketing. Existing efforts were not effectively capturing the mission or potential of this young organization. In fact, they still left people uncertain as to what ECHO Colorado does.
The objective for Bianca e Nero was clear—help ECHO Colorado better articulate their work and bring their deeper purpose to life, so they can get the word out to a diverse audience consisting of those working in the health world.
ECHO Colorado gives voice to knowledge through a unique learning platform. By combining interactive learning and case-based discussion, the organization allows every health professional the opportunity to participate in a community where experts and peers share knowledge, experience and expertise using technology, not proximity, to connect. Great idea, right? So why wasn’t it connecting better with healthcare professionals?
To find the answer, we set about getting to know their audience a little better. We spent lots of time talking with them, learning about their jobs, finding out what motivates them to help people, and uncovering their greatest challenges.
One significant issue bubbled to the surface. Demands are heavy on those in the health world, which leaves them little time to grow their knowledge base or skill set. Traveling to conferences is difficult, time consuming and costly, and it takes them away from their offices and clinics. While they universally agreed that everyone, including patients, would benefit from a greater sharing of knowledge, connecting the people who have the knowledge with all those who could use it to impact the health and well-being of others isn’t a simple undertaking.
The deeper understanding developed through our comprehensive research phase enabled us to better align the organization’s vision and purpose with the thoughts and needs of the target audience. We expressed this in a comprehensive branding document, which laid out the roadmap for the ECHO Colorado brand moving forward and for all the marketing work to follow. The branding document defined the value of the organization and the brand essence. It also set guidelines for creative expression of the ECHO Colorado brand. The key discoveries from our research became the core thought for the new campaign: “Everyone has something to share and something to learn, and ECHO Colorado is the best way to achieve both.”
Our goal was to craft a campaign that didn’t resemble anything else in a space littered with predictable images and generic ideas. The work needed to reflect that ECHO Colorado is different not just to be different; they are different so they can make a bigger impact. This was expressed by creating materials with ethereal, inspirational messaging and imaging that embrace the limitless possibilities of sharing knowledge through the ECHO model.
Strategic development of campaign elements helped expand message reach and effectiveness. The traditional brochure instead became a mini marketing packet with individual, sharable cards and a poster for breakrooms that serves as a consistent reminder that ECHO Colorado is the place to share and acquire knowledge. All materials push people to a bold new website that inspires while it details ECHO Colorado and its model. The site also allows people to explore available learning series and register on the spot for any that they find interesting.
To build a strong, consistent brand experience across all potential touchpoints, we also provided an ID system using the existing logo, email templates, trade show graphics and a PowerPoint template for presentations.
RESULTS: The rebranding effort has energized the organization and delivered measurable results. The ECHO Colorado team has the much-needed marketing tools that speak to their mission, provide clarity among their target markets and offer a reminder for everyone working in healthcare that they all have lots of knowledge to share and learn.
And their message is resonating with their audience. ECHO Colorado is seeing three times the traffic on their website, inquiries have more than doubled in just a few months, and their first eblast that featured the new branding had close to a 60percent click-through rate, with three-quarters of those people clicking at least one link within the email to learn more. ECHO Colorado is already formulating plans to expand, so they can deliver more ECHO opportunities on more health-related topics to more people in more places.
