Capital Health hired Princeton Partners to market new service lines and to create awareness of differentiating technology investments that supported them: the CyberKnife radiosurgery system and the daVinci surgical system. These technologies gave this acute-care teaching hospital system in Trenton, NJ the unique ability to provide two highly advanced treatment options to Trenton-area men who were living with prostate cancer. Given this capacity, the hospital wanted to raise awareness of prostate cancer and of Capital Health as the premier treatment center.
Since screening is the first step to treatment, Princeton Partners created a community awareness campaign with a core message, ‘Screening Saves Lives’, that charged men to take a proactive role in their own wellness. Using a Hollywood red-carpet theme, we sent the men of the community an invitation to attend “the biggest screening of their life.” The creative made the topic of prostate cancer less clinical and fearful and much more approachable. Capital Health was positioned as the one hospital system so committed to early detection that they would go so far as to provide these important screenings as a free service to the community.
We developed and executed TV, radio, print, out-of-home, web and public relations messaging targeting all men age 50 or older. Using grassroots outreach programs and events staged at cultural and philanthropic settings, train stations and local malls, we drew attention to the screening program and encouraged appointment sign-ups. Lastly, more than 4,000 of Capital Health’s own employees were targeted through a dedicated email, and recruited to be ambassadors for the program.
The Red Carpet campaign resulted in hundreds of screenings for men, many of whom would never have been screened otherwise. Out of the 531 men who registered, 310 attended one of the 11 screenings. More than 15% were referred for further prostate cancer evaluation and 3% were recommended for a colonoscopy. About 40% with abnormal blood pressures received counseling on lifestyle changes.
In addition, the Red Carpet campaign was honored by the New Jersey Hospital Association with the prestigious Community Outreach Award for Improving Access and Quality of Care. Capital Health has since expanded the campaign into a broader message of ‘Caring for the Community’. The hospital now has a turnkey program that it can leverage for other community programs in the future.