Akron Childrens Hospital

Kid Stuff? Determining the Best Positioning Strategy for Akron Children’s Hospital

Question One

Other hospitals in the Akron area, like Akron City Hospital, Akron General Medical Center, and St. Thomas Hospital had all recently appointed new marketing directors. Akron Children's Hospital's Marketing Director Aaron Powell thought that it was important to conduct this study because the competition in the area were growing their marketing campaigns. By doing so, created an urgency for Akron Children's Hospital to strengthen its marketing efforts in order to remain competitive. According to Janet Jones, “Akron Children’s Hospital board wants the hospital to become the preferred hospital in the high-growth areas of the region.” (Maholtra, 2010)

Question Two

The main purpose of the study was to determine the best positioning for this hospital for the upcoming communications campaign. The board hoped to increase the number of patients at Akron Children’s Hospital by approximately 10% in the next fiscal year by properly marketing this hospital.

Question Three

The Akron Hospital employees were trying to answer key questions on whether to proceed with plan A, B, C, or D. The amount of financial resources varied for each option and the group was trying to determine which effort would be a worthwhile investment of their time and resources.

Question Four

Powell and his team were reviewing several methods to determine the best avenue to market the hospital. Plans A, B, and C all utilized focus groups to answer marketing research questions.

• Plan A: Focus Group only ($20k)

• Plan B: Focus group with a follow up survey ($60k)

• Plan C: Survey with a follow up focus group ($60k)

The focus group participants would discuss their experiences while at the hospital. In plan B, the focus group would be held and then a field survey would be conducted in order to follow up on the issues that were identified. Plan C would conduct a survey to establish the positioning preference of the participants and those strategies can be explored with a follow-up focus group. Plan D was the last alternative, which was to conduct no research and let the communication and research agency brainstorm marketing ideas.

Question Five

The most important understanding about Akron Children's Hospital as an organization that led the firm to consider the research about its positioning was that this hospital was about the kids. The marketing strategy, created by agency Marcus Thomas, should “cover the entire range of issues families consider when choosing a hospital for their kid.” (Maholtra, 2010) An intensification in the marketing campaigns at rival hospitals could reduce the number of patient cases at Akron Children's Hospital. Missing one important piece in the marketing campaign might result in families choosing another hospital. If Akron Children’s Hospital