Bravo Visiting Nurse Service!
“Your husband is ready to leave the hospital. The tubes in his chest are coming with him. Now what?” For people of a certain age this question is pretty scary. And real. It is the headline of an ad in a brilliant new marketing campaign by the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
Category leaders educate the market (Are you listening Gentiva?) and the VNS is doing just that with this new effort. The advertising speaks to consumers in a straightforward, empathic voice and, more importantly, isn’t asking rhetorical marketing questions. These questions make consumers feel something. More questions and answers can be found on the website http://www.vnsny.org/answers or their toll-free number. Unlike Geico, which promises savings after 15 minutes, VNS makes no promises and smartly doesn’t ask for an email address. They act like a leader.
I’ve been following the VNS marketing for a couple of years and it has been so-so at best. “We bring the caring home” was their tagline — a what we do line – and since their name tells the story the line has been a lost opportunity. The new line “The Right Care Now” seems a bit weak, but may work depending on the brand planks. The new logo is “bookish” and old school, which may work for boomers but certainly not for their caregiver children. Overall, however, the new campaign is very smart and well-integrated with the web. Not gratuitously integrated with the web.
Any good doctor or nurse will tell you that listening is an important part of a good bedside manner. VNS is asking the right questions, listening and providing good counsel. Bravo VNS of NY.