As digital media and highly defined metrics become a larger part of delivering marketing messages, advertisers are looking for ways to relate the metrics of digital media to traditional media.

There are digital ways to track traditional media, but the over-arching metric among all media is still  impressions. This leads to the question, if digital metrics are more detailed, is digital better than the traditional? Not at all! They are meant to work together to target consumers throughout the purchase cycle. This makes knowing when and how to reach your audience essential.

Tara Payne Mueller, digital & media strategist, and Laura Mitchell, digital strategist, discussed how goals and messaging are important in evaluating your campaign metrics in May’s L&S Boot Camp Webinar – Message Delivery: Metrics Across Digital and Traditional Media.

The Internet and social media have fundamentally changed the pace of business, compressing time and rewarding speed. News breaks over minutes, not days. Companies can develop or refine products and services instantly based on customer feedback or events in the marketplace.

As a result, public relations has changed forever. Traditional media outlets are no longer the inpenetrable gatekeepers. Citizen journalists (whether they think of themselves that way or not) are reporting more updates from more locations than professional journalists could ever hope to cover. And businesses have an unprecented freedom to share their stories directly with key audiences – customers and potential clients.

This shifting landscape provides business with an opportunity never before seen. It’s called Real-Time PR… the mindset of finding and engaging with emerging story lines before they become old news.

Real-time PR was the topic of April’s L&S Boot Camp Webinar. Lawrence & Schiller’s Dave Haan, Director of Public Relations, and Lindsey Philips, PR Coordinator, presented the three “D”s at the foundation of real-time PR:

• Detect conversations about your brand
• Deliver the right messages to the right audiences
• Decrease your response time

People are willing to go to great lengths in order to save money, some brave the crowds of Crazy Days sales and Black Friday, while others cut coupons or play the “waiting game” for an item to go on sale. Shopping around for the best deal isn’t a new concept, but are we prepared to “shop” for healthcare? 

After reading about a woman who decided to start shopping for healthcare after her husband was placed on a new insurance plan with a high deductable, I realized how healthcare shopping may be a growing trend. Due to the increase in out-of-pocket costs, some of the most significant changes in decades are coming to hospitals in order to make price information more transparent to patients.

Hospitals such as Henry Ford Health and Oakwood Healthcare have already begun to make prices of common procedures available on their websites. Other hospitals are also starting to make more basic pricing information and pay plan data available, in order to accommodate the growing number of potential patients looking for this information.

As patients begin to ask more about pricing upfront, they will be less likely to undergo a procedure without requesting a second opinion or for options to reduce cost. This calls for healthcare facilities to be more transparent with pricing information as well as put employees in place to help patients through the “shopping” process.

What do we know about women? Women are influential, social, and online – especially when it comes to making decisions about their health or the health of a loved one.

When looking at how best to engage women, it is important to know women want to make educated decisions about their health and the health of a loved one. That’s why eight out of ten women search for health information online, they want to be well informed and play an active role on the road to recovery.

Two out of three women say they are the main decision maker in their family for healthcare related services. This insight elevates the importance of developing messages relevant to women, even in healthcare areas other than those which typically target women, such as breast cancer and OB campaigns. Extending female targeted messaging to other areas of healthcare, for example, talking to the wife, the mother, the sister of a man in need of a prostate exam, can open a door to a new group of advocates for your hospital services. Think about it, who is behind many of the healthcare decisions in your home?

Tapping into this network of decision makers and family influencers, even when the service itself isn’t female specific, can grow your awareness and word of mouth marketing. Focus on areas where women can use their influence as an encouraging family caregiver and key healthcare decision maker.

Smartphones, social media, tablets, e-readers, web apps and mobile barcodes are just a few of the emerging technologies brands are exploring in 2011 in hopes of reaching new (and often younger) consumers. For product-based brands like Target or Nike, incorporating  your brand into the digital world easily generates higher levels of brand engagement. But other more serious products like health insurance can also reap rewards from emerging media.

An article last week in the Minneapolis Star Tribune showcased Medica Insurance’s new marketing aimed at reaching younger, non-traditional families and couples needing health insurance. By utilizing imagery of their target audience and QR codes in their ads, Medica is bridging the gap between what’s cool with consumers and what health insurance has to offer.

With Nielsen projecting smartphones to reach equal levels of saturation with that of standard phones in 2011, it’s a smart move for health insurers to look into not only utilizing mobile marketing tools like QR codes or augmented reality, but getting on mobile devices, as well.  Last year, Pew Research found that 43 percent of cell phone users had apps on their phones. This number will undoubtedly increase over the next year as more and more consumers opt for new smartphones.

With healthcare reform continuing to take shape on a state-by-state basis, health insurance marketers now have an opportunity to reach niche audiences they may have never considered before. By utilizing tools that not only resonate with the target audience, but also help create greater interaction with one’s brand, health insurers will enter a new realm of consumer engagement and connection with their key audiences’ wants and needs.

*image courtesy Minneapolis Star Tribune

When you think of insurance quotes, the first place you look is social media, right? No? Well, maybe it should be. According to a survey by Mintel Comperemedia, more consumers, specifically men between 25 and 34, are researching insurance on social media sites. While younger than the traditional consumer, these young men are using the Internet more frequently than traditional sources for research and service information.

While many insurance agents are quick to target young families and medium-sized businesses, considerable equity lies in reaching out to Generation Y through digital channels. Figures show nearly 81 percent of this audience uses social networks daily and 45 percent read blogs daily. These consumers also have higher disposable incomes and are more financially equipped to invest in comprehensive, quality insurance plans.

Digital mediums are quickly gaining on traditional messaging channels across all groups, though, and companies are taking notice. Sixty percent of brands are marketing on social media channels today and some are predicting that within a year, only 1 in 6 brands will lack a social presence.

For those stepping out in the digital space, successful campaigns will be those that integrate interactive elements. Today’s young consumer prefers to connect to brands through online channels, and creating an engaging online space will quickly secure success.

How do you rationalize paying for something that you can’t see, you can’t taste and only use when you absolutely need it? It’s difficult to place value on something as intangible as health insurance, and it can be difficult to ‘sell’ to consumers who don’t know what to look for and are apathetic about obtaining coverage.

According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50 million Americans are without health insurance this year, a number so large that it leaves marketers asking, why so many?

The most significant reason is the high cost of health insurance. Despite claims the recession is over, many are still out of work or caught in jobs that pit the intangible “luxury” of health insurance against paying for groceries or electricity.

Other reasons for lack of insurance coverage center on a lack of education about the process of obtaining health insurance and what to look for when researching plans. With news reports peppered with language like ‘minimum loss ratio’ and ‘federal exchange’ the industry isn’t speaking to the average consumer.

As we move into 2011, a year when many states will begin drafting outlines for health insurance exchanges, health insurance marketers must understand how consumers view health insurance and why. With further insight and understanding, marketers can better convince Americans that the intangible benefit of health insurance is well worth the cost.

The holiday season is one of my favorite times of year. Not for the gifts or the aromas of delicious treats filling homes and even workplaces, but for the spirited electricity coursing through people that comes with shopping, getting together with family and holiday vacations. In addition to the regular hustle and bustle that comes with the season, this year’s holidays will be a bit more energetic as we close 2010 with many industries grappling with one of the most comprehensive changes to federal legislation in decades–healthcare reform.

2011 marks the official kick off of the newly passed healthcare reform initiatives signed into law back in March of this year. While many businesses are working to understand how the laws will change their internal health plans, many consumers are feeling just as flustered with what the new laws mean to them.

Despite constant media coverage and heated debates surrounding healthcare the last eight months, a Pew Research study conducted earlier this year showed the average consumer still none the wise about healthcare reform. Even the majority of those who will be most affect d by the law, Generation Y 20-somethings and young families, have tuned out the chatter.

It seems as though a canyon-like gap exists between consumer understanding and the more than 2,440 pages of healthcare legislation. They’re not sure what is different, how it affects them and what, if anything, they’re suppose to do next.

This gap, while daunting to some, is the prime target for healthcare markets looking to capture new audiences and build brand loyalty with the introduction of the first changes in January. By informing consumers of the new laws and regulations and inviting them to take a more participatory role in healthcare, markets can turn apathetic generations into millions of insured, protected individuals and families.

Some things, like porn and public relations, are notoriously difficult to define.

In 1964, Supreme court Justice Potter Stewart famously opined on the definition of obscenity when he wrote, “…I’ll know it when I see it…”.

I think the same can be said for PR. You may not be able to recite a textbook definition, but you’ll know it when you see it.

If something gets you talking about a company, its products, people or services, then in my opinion it’s PR. Sometimes a carefully crafted campaign sparks the conversation. Other times PR springs from an unexpected part of your business… like customer service.

Recently, while driving across South Dakota with my boss, we decided to refuel and grab some lunch in Oacoma. As I pulled off the interstate he specifically directed me to the Shell station which was located across the highway from the convenience store and fast food place we were planning to visit.

“Why not fill up where we’re going to eat?” I asked.

“Because the owners are great people and I like to give them business,” was his answer.

Sure enough, as soon as we walked in the owner gave my boss a warm greeting and even asked about his elderly parents who had stopped with him only once before! They talked about business, the weather and the upcoming election like old friends. I was amazed not only how the owner remembered a customer she only sees periodically but how many details she retained.

Great customer service? Absolutely. Good public relations? You bet.

It got a customer talking, starting a positive buzz that continues even now as their story spreads on this blog, Facebook and Twitter. And the next time I’m in Oacoma, you know I’m stopping at Dakota Shell.

That looks like the definition of good PR to me.

Health care reform is a hot topic in almost every major news outlet, and probably at your dinner table too. As the debate about mandated coverage continues in Washington, there are also a number of consumer-driven trends that are impacting the face of health care today. Research conducted by companies such as the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions showcases the increasing desire of individuals to have greater control over decisions affecting their health care. Consumers want to control their health information and prefer providers who use Internet-based tools to augment care. 

Although the research highlights these preferences, are consumers really making provider choices based on them?  Not around here. A sample survey of our L&S Research Panel indicates that consumer choice is more likely to be driven by their company’s choice in this region.

Consumerism in health care is not solely based on consumer wants. Health care choices are sometimes limited based on health plans, providers and costs, and are likely made with the help of outside advisors or agents. From our snapshot, it appears that a majority of consumers rely on their employers to select quality medical care with effective provider lists.

Access to information is undoubtedly one of the most exciting trends evolving in health care today. But as increased transparency allows consumers to get and act on their personal health information, health care and non-health care businesses must decide how to take advantage of this trend as well. Many will cite the plethora of social media sites that focus on consumer empowerment as the next big thing in healthcare consumerism. However, the bigger play may be for strategies that, in an increasingly competitive environment, create value by helping health care purchasers and vendors make better, data-driven decisions that play to their employees’ desires, as well as the bottom line.