We nursed an ailing hospital back to health.

REBRAND & CREATIVE CAMPAIGN FOR A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

UK Healthcare

CHALLENGE

UK HealthCare, (UKHC) the academic medical center at the University of Kentucky, offers nationally recognized clinical care, pioneering research, and advanced medical technology. Yet in 2015, despite its exceptional capabilities, the institution struggled with brand visibility, market perception, and regional recognition. UKHC needed a full-scale rebrand to elevate its profile, unify its message, and better reflect the sophistication of its offerings across central and eastern Kentucky.

SOLUTION

We partnered with UKHC to strategically reposition the brand around a powerful, unifying message: “The Power of Advanced Medicine.” The campaign was designed to differentiate UKHC from regional competitors by emphasizing its innovation, academic excellence, and life-saving expertise while infusing warmth and humanity into the brand to foster broader audience connection.

Deliverables
Brand positioning + campaign development
Website design and digital strategy
Print and outdoor advertising
Targeted online marketing campaigns
UK Healthcare branding
UK Healthcare design
What We Delivered
  • STRATEGIC BRAND POSITIONING

    Developed the “Power of Advanced Medicine” platform to elevate UKHC’s value proposition and establish its voice as a leader in academic and clinical care.

  • INTEGRATED MARKETING ECOSYSTEM

    Built a cohesive, multi-channel campaign to increase awareness, deepen engagement, and unify communications across print, digital, and physical spaces.

  • DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

    Reimagined the UKHC website with a focus on accessibility, clarity, and performance ensuring users could easily find, trust, and act on key health information.

  • TARGETED CAMPAIGNS

    Launched strategic online and offline campaigns to reach patients, referring physicians, and regional audiences with tailored messaging and creative.

UK Healthcare Advertising
University of Kentucky Billboard
uk healthcare online ads
Business Impact
  • REVITALIZED BRAND IDENTITY

    Repositioned UKHC as the premier destination for advanced, academic medicine in the region.

  • ELEVATED AWARENESS & PERCEPTION

    Significantly improved public recognition and local/regional perception of UKHC’s capabilities and reputation.

    •  

  • MEASURABLE RESULTS

    Contributed to marked increases in patient engagement, hospital rankings, and awareness across central and eastern Kentucky.

  • SET A REGIONAL STANDARD

    The campaign helped UK HealthCare communicate its mission and value with unprecedented clarity and authority setting a new bar for healthcare branding in the region.

University of Kentucky Healthcare advertising
University of Kentucky Healthcare advertising
University of Kentucky Healthcare advertising

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Target

The rebranding effort needed to drive engagement with the people of Eastern Kentucky and the surrounding region during all phases of their decision journey. The campaign needed to connect with people imminently searching for a hospital as well as people considering a hospital for future procedures. Additionally, the campaign needed to appeal to the broader regional medical community to help recruit top medical specialists to Lexington.

 

Strategy

To reposition the hospital system by highlighting UK HealthCare’s ability to deliver the highest quality care through the power of advanced medicine.

After a complete and thorough strategic brand assessment, “The Power of” campaign was launched to much success.

A bold and sophisticated anthemic launch spot was created. Accompanying print, radio, OOH, and digital offerings were simultaneously initiated. To track the success of the campaign, the hospital website was re-skinned to correspond with the new campaign and a unique landing page was created as a funnel for digital traffic.

 

Television

The campaign launched with an anthemic television spot consisting of small vignettes highlighting different aspects of the hospital’s breakthrough work. The commercial was shot in a way that could be cut down into singular 15-second spots in order to maximize exposure using smaller media buys.

 

Print

Synergistic print was used in magazines and newspapers across Kentucky. We consistently told stories of the incredible breakthrough work being conducted at UK Healthcare. Those stories, told within an interesting campaign, dramatically shifted perceptions of the hospital.

 

Outdoor advertising

Out-of-home advertising also served to work in conjunction with the television, print, radio and social.

 

Social ads

Facebook posts were primarily used to further boost engagement and facilitate discussion.

 

Radio ads

The campaign also featured targeted radio spots on Spotify.

 

Results:

  • Impressive year-over-year increases in overall web visits and solid engagement with campaign landing page (just under 40,000 users)
  • 39,820 sessions from 37,915 unique users visited the campaign landing page
  • Total site visits increased by 23%, unique visits by 26%. New visits increased by 31%
  • Sessions on mobile devices increased 44%, tablet sessions nearly 28% and desktop sessions 8%