Promotional Strategies
What makes a health care product or service stand out from its competitors? Perhaps you recognize the advertising slogans below:

"Tylenol: The pain reliever hospitals use most"

"Walgreens: The Pharmacy America Trusts"

"Merck: Where patients come first"

"The More You Know, The More You Trust Bayer.

Take it for Pain. Take it for Life"

"Pfizer:Working for a healthier world"

"GlaxoSmithKline: Do more, feel better, live longer"

Advertising slogans can be an effective way to differentiate oneself in a competitive marketplace. In addition, today's organizations use a variety of means to promote their products and services. For this Discussion, you will research and analyze aspects of an organization's promotional strategies.

Prepare for this Discussion as follows:

•This week's media segment, "Strategic Planning in Action: Good Samaritan Hospital of Maryland" presents some of the promotion strategies employed for the JointExperience and The Spine Center at that hospital. Consider how the information presented in this media segment relates to the concepts and ideas presented in last week's media segment, as well as the text chapters, particularly Chapters 11 and 12.

•Select a different health care organization, product, or service of interest to you. Conduct research on your own to identify one or more examples that demonstrate use of promotional strategies. For instance, you may examine television commercials and newspaper ads for a local physician practice, or a website designed to promote a medical device.

•Analyze the effectiveness of these promotional strategies. Consider who the target market might be, and why these strategies might have been chosen. What could you surmise about the organization's strategic priorities? Be prepared to support your rationale.

•Devise at least one recommendation for improving upon or adding to the promotion strategies.

•As you do this, reflect on the ethical considerations involved in promotion. What ethical responsibilities should guide health care leaders as they engage in various aspects of marketing?

Post response to the following:

•In the first line of your posting, identify the organization, product, or service you have selected. Provide a brief description of one or more examples of promotional strategies. If possible, include a web link or other attachment to allow others to view the source(s).

•Analyze each example of a promotional strategy. Explain why you think each is-or isn't-e ffective. Describe who you think the target market is, and the potential connections between these promotional strategies and the strategic priorities of that organization. Be sure to provide your rationale.

•Provide at least one recommendation for how you would improve upon or expand these promotional strategies.

•Describe the ethical responsibilities that you believe should guide health care leaders as they engage in various aspects of marketing.