Sutter Health
Setting the record straight
Sutter Health is the support organization for many well-known and well-regarded hospitals and healthcare services that have joined together to preserve their not-for-profit missions. Located in California, one of the most challenging areas in the country for healthcare, Sutter had been miscast by the press as a for-profit organization engaged in hostile takeovers of community institutions. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Challenges
Reverse the misperceptions – with a limited communications budget
Build consensus for a brand strategy and communications plan among the affiliates of the system and engage them in conveying the benefits of their own affiliation with Sutter Health
Actions
Recommended that all affiliates adopt the Sutter symbol and logotype and endorsement line "A Sutter Health Affiliate" to create a more unified, efficient presentation while maintaining well-known local names
Worked with a system-wide group of affiliates to create a communications plan that specified the roles and objectives of the system as well as the individual affiliates, prioritized audiences and articulated key messages
Created a new system-wide visual system designed to present a much more integrated presentation that communicates a cohesive personality – quality led, mission driven, committed to its communities and united in purpose
Created a new descriptive tagline, "community based, not-for-profit" for use in all communications for both the system and the affiliates
Developed a new positioning that directly addressed the misperceptions and focused on the benefits of association to improve outcomes and advance the quality of care