About
Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) based in Watertown, South Dakota is an independent, non-profit healthcare system serving 90,000 residents in northeastern South Dakota and west central Minnesota. PLHS is proud of its ability to partner with primary care clinics, larger health systems and critical access hospitals to provide patients with care close to home.
- Agency of Record: July 2020 - Current
- Brand Refresh Dates: July – December 2020
- Brand Refresh Budget: $100,000
The Task / Challenge
PLHS was looking for a creative and fresh agency with the goal of a long-term partnership as an extension of their marketing team. They needed help with establishing brand consistency through creative development, empowering staff through templates and creating campaigns alongside their marketing team as needed when new needs arise and during the launch of new services at PLHS.
Tasks for Odney:
- Collaborate to develop brand positioning strategy.
- Evaluate and synthesize existing research and conduct new and original research where appropriate.
- Develop refreshed image
- Key messages.
- Bridge brand assets between various departments such as HR, marketing, and foundation.
- Collaborate with in-house graphic artist to establish a productive workflow of new assets. Examples include print ads, collateral, and website graphics.
- Empower staff with assets they can utilize while creating documents (templates).
- Audio visual standards, including:
- i. Photography.
- Intro and outro for in-house videos.
- Radio voice talent.
- Identify target demographics.
- Propose marketing plans, including media schedules.
- Produce new broadcast and creative suites for campaigns as needed.
- Broadcast media buying.
The Solution
PLHS started searching for a new agency of record. Out of nine invited, (seven from SD and two from ND) Odney was unanimously chosen over all others, including their previous agency of more than 10 years. We focused on our process at Odney, personalizing the who, what, when, where and why. Every client we work with is important and we made sure to show them they wouldn’t get lost in our agency. We felt Odney could give PLHS a new, strategic approach to achieving their goals – they agreed.
Odney started with an in-person discovery meeting with the marketing team and upper management to learn more about the organization and define the deliverables and expectations. Once this initial process was completed, Odney conducted 40+ in person interviews with staff members, board members, physicians and providers to get a deeper look into the past, culture and inner workings of PLHS.
Next, we used the data to identify their key target audience, determine the right message, develop a new brand strategy, build a multi-channel media plan and begin moving the needle on their two-year objectives.
TV
Billboard
Print
The Results
The true results of our work are yet to be seen, as the campaign just began in January of 2021. However, what was done for Prairie Lakes Healthcare System to date includes:
Competitive analysis and research
- Our research was vital to guiding the campaign approach. Out of the research, we discovered the need to increase services at PLHS and a positive perception of the facility in the communities they serve.
Television creative, radio creative, video and photography shoots on location
- Odney executed a full location photo and video shoot that utilized people from PLHS and the Watertown, SD area. The goal was to use people and feature places that were recognizable by the service area to portray a local feel and connection to the community to help build that positive perception and brand awareness.
Graphics standards for internal and external materials
- Brochures, print ads, display banners, rack cards, providers mailers, service line booklets, temporary signage, event ads, HR and Foundation materials.
Feedback From the Client
“We were not just looking for a creative agency, we were looking for a long-term partner. A team we could rely on for both large projects, like refreshing our image, and small campaigns. Lucky for us, we know a good match when we see it. With Odney we can brainstorm ideas together and create powerful, meaningful visuals that portray Prairie Lakes Healthcare System for who we really are to our rural community. I trust Odney to handle the tiny details, freeing up my time to focus on projects that empower my team to propel our organization forward.”