Case study: Marketing your hospital's name

Untitled Page

When Independence Animal Hospital in Clarkston, Mich., decided to move out of its small strip mall location into a new state-of-the-art facility across the street, the hospital owners used the opportunity to rethink the practice's identity and market positioning.

The clinic's old name and logo.

The practice was building a reputation for high-level diagnostics when treating tough cases, so many of its clients were coming from outside the local community. Therefore, a new identity was in order. The clinic shed the part of its name that linked it to the local township and instead adopted a regional orientation. The new monike—Advanced PetCare of Oakland (named for the local county)—elevated the perceived sophistication of the practice and conveyed a county-wide reach. A new tag line, "Answers for the life, health, and well-being of your companion," provided an emotional connection for potential clients. These elements were conveyed graphically in a new hospital logo.

Smartly, the owners of Advanced PetCare of Oakland made it a point to begin the repositioning process long before the move. Rebranding and related communications with clients, referral sources, and others started more than a year before the new facility was completed. This way the hospital reduced the possibility of anyone thinking that the old Independence Animal Hospital had simply gone away.

The clinic's new name and logo.