Cheyenne Regional Medical Center

CRT/tanaka began working with Wyoming’s Cheyenne Regional Medical Center in 2005, leading the organization through a comprehensive brand identification and implementation process. After conducting extensive research demonstrating that area residents were not aware of the medical center’s capabilities and did not identify with its name (which at the time was United Medical Center), CRT/tanaka worked with the center’s marketing and communications department to develop a new brand name and graphic identity. The agency created internal and external communications tools to support the brand and position Cheyenne Regional Medical Center as an example of clinical excellence.

When the hospital unveiled its new identity, the Cheyenne daily newspaper devoted an editorial to the name change, concluding that it was a positive move that would benefit the community by making the medical center more competitive in its field. In keeping with the new Cheyenne brand, CRT/tanaka developed internal communication materials, a Web site and television ads, and is now in the process of creating advertising geared toward physicians. Additionally, the agency has counseled Cheyenne Regional Medical Center as needed with regard to crisis and change communications, media training and message development.

A NEW BRAND, A NEW NAME, A PHYSICIAN REVOLT AND A CEO TRANSITION

Challenge

In mid-2005, United Medical Center in Cheyenne, Wyo., completed a strategic plan and established a vision of becoming a regional medical center. Located in the state capital and the 4th largest employer in the region, the hospital attracts highly skilled professionals and has been recognized by Money magazine as a top hospital in the nation for mitral valve heart surgery. Yet the hospital’s capabilities and expertise were not well known, even in its own community, and a competitor from nearby northern Colorado was aggressively marketing itself.

Solutions/Results

A New Brand

Hospital leaders engaged CRT/tanaka to lead them through a brand identification process, which included the following:

• Research that demonstrated that residents did not identify with the hospital’s name;
• Brand development, a comprehensive process of defining the hospital’s brand identity and developing a graphic identity and communications tools to support the brand;
• Brand implementation so that the organization “lives the brand” through integrated communications, operational efficiencies and service.

A New Name

In September 2006, the hospital unveiled its new identity and name – Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. The Cheyenne daily newspaper devoted an editorial to the name change, concluding that it was “a positive move that will benefit the community” by enabling the hospital to compete better and attract more doctors to southeastern Wyoming. Working with Cheyenne’s marketing and communications department, CRT/tanaka developed new television ads and a Web site, wrote articles about the brand for employee communications and is in the process of developing physician advertising that follows the hospital brand and brand platform.

CRT/tanaka conducted brand message and communications training for the medical center’s management team. To demonstrate Cheyenne’s brand attribute of clinical excellence, the agency is developing a quality report to the community and using posters in elevators to reinforce the clinical excellence message.

A Physician Revolt

In September 2008, the physicians called a medical staff meeting and rendered a no confidence vote of the hospital’s CEO and board chairman. The news of the medical meeting and vote was picked up by the news media, including the Associated Press (AP). The agency counseled the hospital during the crisis, limiting the media coverage and getting their messages in the stories. The Board of Trustees accepted the CEO’s resignation.

A CEO Transition

On Oct. 7, 2008, the Board of Trustees appointed a physician executive as the interim CEO. The agency worked with the vice president and marketing and communications team to communicate the transition to employees, physicians and the community. The new CEO and key executives will be media trained, and the agency will assist the CEO in crafting his messages, developing a communication style that resonates with employees and physicians and helping him forge a collaborative working relationship with physicians.