My mate Nige……and how 880,000 people saw his name
One of my oldest friends is a guy called Nigel Jepson. Nige and I used to walk to school together as kids. We also used to try and beat each other at every sport you can imagine. And then there was a tussle for a girl’s love that I remember!
We survived all that and still get together whenever we’re in the same city. Nigel lives in Sydney – about 1,000 km down the coast.
Nigel got a mention
I bought a Sydney newspaper today just as we we’re going into the restaurant (Sydney Morning Herald) and was reading it when Nige had to take a call. Sure enough, there in the Letters to the Editor section was a letter that mentioned Nigel.
And the newspaper ran an article on him too.
Something along the lines of “My life was saved by the expert care of Dr. Nigel Jepson and the team at the Prince of Wales Hospital….”
Whooooopy doooo Nige. How interesting saving someone’s life. I do more good with marketing and web sites!
Cardiologists………..take all the credit for saving lives.
The impact of that letter
People form perceptions through experience and information. 880,000 people read in today’s Sydney Morning Herald that the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney are great at heart stuff. 880,000 people also read that Nigel’s skill and expertise saves lives.
People believe what they read (generally).
A simple letter to the editor can be all that it takes to assist in establishing a positive perception of an institute as old as a major city teaching hospital.
On a smaller level, imagine if the newspaper followed up in a week by publishing another Letter to the Editor that mentioned Nigel in a positive way. And then another 3 months later.
That could be the start of a hugely effective PR campaign for Nigel (leaving aside the fact that the publicity does nothing for Nigel – other than getting clowns like me ring him up at 7.30 at night and congratulate him on his new, higher profile!).
A solid strategy
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I used to market hospitals. Let’s say we just opened a new Emergency Department and we wanted to get some recognition.
Maybe getting a happy patient to write a Letter to the Editor of the local paper singing our praises would be effective. Especially if we did it regularly.
People read the Letters to the Editor. Check you local paper today and see how many people with vested interests are getting their letters published.
Cheers
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