top of page
brand w 1.png
for health

Why brand activation fails in healthcare (and what to do instead)

  • Writer: Lyn Cruickshank
    Lyn Cruickshank
  • 4 days ago
  • 3 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago


"We've done all the brand work and we're happy with that, but the activation hasn't been successful."


It's a concern we hear regularly when organisations approach us.


The problem often starts with a misunderstanding of what a brand actually is. A brand isn't a visual identity. It isn't a logo, colour palette or advertising campaign. It's the abstract idea that captures the essence and ethos of an organisation, expressed consistently through the decisions people make, the behaviours they demonstrate and the experiences they create every day.


In the rush to launch a new identity or refresh an existing one, it's easy to overlook the deeper strategic vision and simply apply a new logo and some well-crafted marketing messages to the same organisation. But because awareness, preference, loyalty and advocacy take years to build, brands should support long-term business objectives. Without that strategic foundation, organisations often abandon or dilute a new brand before it has had time to make an impact¹.


Activation is therefore the process of making that idea real, not simply launching a new identity or marketing campaign. In many ways, brand embedding is a more accurate description.


Healthcare presents both unique opportunities and unique challenges.


Brand experiences are lived through thousands of interactions between healthcare professionals, patients and their families. Genuine compassion, purpose and trust can therefore be expressed naturally through everyday care. At the same time, many brand promises depend on organisational realities that branding alone cannot change. A promise of quality, for example, depends on clinical excellence, operational systems and the commitment of the workforce.


More subtle points of differentiation can be even harder to embed. Attributes such as innovation, ease of access, choice or patient experience may feel less relevant to busy clinical teams focused on delivering safe, effective care. Yet these are often the very characteristics that distinguish one healthcare provider from another.


As one commentator observed: "Organisations can train employees to know the brand. They cannot train them to care about it. That takes something deeper.²”


The solution is to make the brand relevant, believable and meaningful across the organisation. Make it about patients and the care being delivered. Build pride by recognising the contribution people make every day, so the brand speaks directly to the motivations that brought healthcare professionals into their roles in the first place.


When you embed a brand, you activate the behaviours that make the brand real


That also means embedding the brand into the way the organisation operates. HR needs to align recruitment, onboarding, performance measures and recognition with the brand values.  And implement company-wide training to help every employee understand exactly how their role delivers the brand promise.


This is where storytelling becomes essential.


Stories are how people make sense of the world. They help us share knowledge, pass on experience, make promises, inspire action and create shared purpose. A strong brand story provides the narrative thread that connects even the most complex healthcare organisations, giving employees a common understanding of why they exist and what they are trying to achieve together.


Keep it simple. Use narrative techniques and engaging formats to communicate the story quickly and consistently. A well-defined brand should give people renewed energy and purpose. When it is genuinely understood and believed, activation becomes less about campaigns and more about momentum. The brand begins to embed itself through the everyday actions of the organisation.

 



 

Comments

bottom of page