Integrating Print and Digital Communications to Share Powerful Stories: Johns Hopkins Medicine International

Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) wanted to ensure that its diverse target audience was aware of the health care services Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) offers to patients from outside the U.S. and the expertise of Johns Hopkins physicians and facilities, all while advancing the institution’s mission of improving health care throughout the world through global collaboration. To build brand awareness and generate qualified leads, it employs a mix of print and digital communications, including an annual print magazine, Leader, to reach health care referral sources (embassies and physicians), influencers (business leaders) and health care gatekeepers (government officials) in its key geographic regions of Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Asia. Patients from over 215 countries have traveled to Johns Hopkins for medical care.

The goal for the 2017 issue of Leader was to reflect JHM’s four principles — innovation, collaboration, human connection and hope — through content that highlighted Hopkins physicians’ expertise in treating rare and challenging conditions and showcased both the personalized care that patients from around the world receive at Johns Hopkins and the collaborations with health care providers abroad that enable patients in those countries to receive care close to home. For example, the cover story shared the experience of a family whose child with a hearing impairment received care at the Johns Hopkins Listening Center. JHI worked with clinical departments and physicians, JHM’s marketing staff, and external creative vendors to produce the 16-page publication.

Leader was mailed in December 2017 to over 27,000 recipients in 12 countries, with nearly 4,000 additional copies distributed via one-on-one meetings and in-person engagements. To integrate print and digital communications and engage the target audience through multiple channels, the magazine encouraged readers to visit the Leader website (dedicated landing page) and subscribe to the Leader quarterly e-mail newsletter for additional stories and research news designed to drive referrals and collaborations. A unique tracking phone number, used in conjunction with their CRM system, was set up to track referrals. JHI used Google Analytics to track landing page activity and tracked e-mail subscriptions and click-through and open rates through their e-mail service provider.

Results:

957 new subscribers to the newsletter, with a 19% open rate and 4% click-through rate for the most recent edition
1,854 landing page views, with an average visit time of over 1 minute
79% of page views were new visitors

Lauren Bennett, JHI marketing manager, emphasized that the integration of print and digital communications was essential to the success of the campaign and encouraged organizations to include print publications in their marketing mix: “It goes without saying that we live in a world where most audiences increasingly prefer digital communications. However, print is still a very impactful — and sometimes preferred — communication medium. Audiences who prefer print tend to be fulfilled by the tangible, tactile experience, which is impossible to feel on a screen. My advice is to continue to consider print communications along with digital communications as part of a multi-channel marketing strategy. It is simply another way to reinforce your organization’s message and deliver a memorable and thought-provoking content experience.”

For more information on the Marketing Excellence Awards and the other winners, visit our post-event press release.

COVER: Photographed by Ron Aira. Hair, makeup and grooming by Connie Tsang/Zenobia Agency, Inc.