Hospira
The Human Perspective

Challenge

A modern medication management system is a huge capital expenditure for hospitals, requiring service and support from the provider. It involves not only the purchase of varying types of infusion pumps and support devices, but also the integration of a server system and software platforms to connect them. In addition, the contracts hospitals sign for these devices and services typically run seven years in length. Finding the right long-term partner contributes to a heightened sense of anxiety when considering the purchase of a new system.

Early research into Hospira’s medication management business, i.e., a collection of devices, software, hardware, and services hospitals use to manage the delivery of medications, revealed that hospitals knew next to nothing about Hospira as a company, despite their high market share. Customers didn’t think of Hospira when they used their pumps and infusion systems. Instead, they identified the devices by their individual product brands. Considering the didactic nature of past communications that simply listed a litany of features and benefits, this wasn’t all that surprising. Hospira was missing opportunities to play a more comprehensive role within hospital systems as a full-service provider who could meet their many needs.

In medication management, the big players, including Hospira, had owned the market for years. But a host of smaller players were making significant inroads and chipping away at their market share. For Hospira to protect their position, their brand would need to start pulling its weight.

With the imminent launch of their new state-of-the-art infusion pump, Symbiq, Hospira identified this moment as an opportunity to take a look at their products and services and rethink the way they were telling their story.

Solution

To distinguish Hospira’s offerings in the minds of their customers, I branded their approach to medication management and created “The Human Perspective” campaign—a reflection of the more humancentric way Hospira develops, implements, and services their systems.

The Human Perspective campaign was based on three tenets: Hospira’s beliefs about medication management, the insights they glean from their customers, and a shared understanding of the issues that matter most. One of these tenets was expressed in each new tactic, based upon the nature of its content. This provided an organizational structure that simplified the creation of all communications while simultaneously strengthening the brand. This testimonial-based campaign, featuring the Hospira employees behind the devices and the customers who use them, comprised a series of topic-based videos, print collateral, and sales events validating Hospira’s success developing and implementing systems.

Between the years of 2004 to 2006, Hospira’s annual sales were $2.6 billion, $2.63 billion, 2.69 billion. During the development of the campaign in 2007 and its launch in 2008, these new tactics contributed to fueling sales, with billings topping $4.1 billion by 2011.

My role: Strategy, Creative Direction, Design, Copywriting

Communication Architecture and Brand Elements

Historically, product managers and their respective sales forces were creating marketing pieces with disparate messages and tone. They spoke about individual devices rather than system-based solutions—they were talking techs and specs. But Hospira was not just selling devices—rather, they were selling a better way to provide care and track medication errors. They developed their product by taking a more humancentric approach with a focus on the needs of the patient and the caregiver. And they did so by addressing the issues facing these individuals within the hospital setting.

I developed “The Human Perspective” as a way to brand their approach. “The Human Perspective” was defined by three tenets of my MMS campaign: Belief, Insight, and Understanding. Hospira has Beliefs about key areas of health care, they gain the Insights of their customers in developing the products and services they provide, and they have an Understanding of the key issues facing healthcare providers.

I developed a model through which their sales force could speak from a 30,000-foot view and illustrate how Hospira and their offerings provided umbrella solutions across an enterprise environment. The model illustrated the way Hospira’s medication management systems and technologies functioned within a typical hospital ecosystem, both in terms of functional aspects and clinical benefits.

I love your ability to bring the concept to reality and your incredible sensitivity to the word!

—
Cheryl Van Nuys, Product Communication Manager at Hospira

Developed as the primary sales tool for reps, this series of twelve videos focused on the three tenets of the Human Perspective. The four Belief videos featured Hospira employees introducing customers to Hospira’s overall approach. The four Insight videos featured different caregiver groups demonstrating Hospira’s commitment to listening. And the four Understanding videos featured both Hospira employees and their customers communicating a shared understanding of the issues within health care that matter most.