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Medical Branding
For a generation of medical professionals there was little need to brand themselves, let alone their practice, and if they did, it was seen as a necessary evil and done half-heartedly.
Yet, a new wave of young specialists with a greater appreciation for the power of branding are emerging, and they’re keener than ever to not only crack into but disrupt their chosen field of practice. But without the professional freedom to even ‘advertise’ it can be difficult to know where to start, and can come down to the subtlest nuances to establish trust and ultimately attract the referrals, reputation and advocacy required to build a medical business. Below we explore some of the principles of design we bring to the table when embarking on any medical brand project.
Start With Why
If you haven’t read the Simon Sinek book ‘Start With Why’ then you can just watch the video in which he describes the power of that fundamental question. So when it comes to establishing immediate rapport with your audience, we always try to visualise tangible end results for them. For orthopaedic surgeon Dr Phil Huang, his ‘why’ was crystallised into the headline ‘The Joy of Movement’ and visualised via aspirational imagery of dancers and athletes (it’s no coincidence they also happen to be prone to needing his care).
Don’t limit yourself
Including a geographic area in your practice name has its benefits in the age of Google, but it also acts to put a perceived boundary around your service area. Sure, the Sunshine Coast is a pretty big net to cast, but the point is that the business is now somewhat chained to this region, and so too its partners and their families. Knowing some of the partners of Sunshine Coast Respiratory & Sleep didn’t hail from the region, we looked to future-proof the logotype in the scenario that they outgrow their region, they decide to locum or take on a partner in another region, or simply decide to move home.
Establish empathy
Everyone always jumps to ‘bedside manner’ when they think of a doctor being empathetic, but a brand can be empathetic too.
In a branding sense, we seek to establish empathy in two ways – firstly, compassion for the condition in question, and secondly, an understanding of local matters.
In the case of ‘Sunshine Coast Respiratory & Sleep’ this transpired as a wave motif symbolic of the rhythm and harmony their patients seek. Cleverly, this also acted to reflect the coastal lifestyle of the Sunshine Coast.
Reflecting the values of your community is a simple way to signal that you value them, and in turn, they just might value you back.
Look to the future
In developing the personal brand for Dr Phil Huang we considered his personal goals, one of which was to open a sports medicine practise. Off the back of his personal brand, the OptiSports brand was born, and is soon to open its doors in Barangaroo, Sydney. In this way, the brand platform continues to provide Phil value into the future.
find optimism
The conditions you treat might be life or death, but that doesn’t mean your audience are looking to be reminded of that.
‘Graphic’ imagery of skin cancers, lesions or scars aren’t exactly the subject matter that everyday people enjoy looking at (as much as you might). In the case of Casey Dermatology, we created a series of patterns inspired by skin and designed to inject a sense of optimism into the brand mix.
