award of merit
amongst the healthcare community in the Chicago market was strong. But outside of this market there was little awareness of the health system, key attributes and the ways they were defining the future of medicine. Our goal was to build credibility within the healthcare industry by bringing awareness to physicians across the nation of the incredible things happening at Northwestern Medicine.
Our campaign, ‘It Happened Here,’ was brought to life through real, extraordinary treatment stories from Northwestern Medicine, showcasing the medical breakthroughs and complex cases that their teams tackle every day. All while putting Chicago front and center.
We wanted to prove that consumer-facing media could influence this elite physician audience. And we had to do it with a budget under $2MM, across 15 specialties, in two census regions.
The strategy required making a small budget feel impossibly large. We engineered a “frequency illusion” campaign, designed to make Northwestern Medicine feel inescapable to physicians in their everyday lives. Instead of chasing them at work, we reached them where they behave like consumers: in their living rooms, cars, and feeds.
We turned audience insights into media strategy, identifying the cultural moments physicians engage with most. Live sports emerged as a powerful anchor, with over a third of physicians regularly tuning in. We delivered high-impact reach in strategic tentpole placements – the US Open, College Football, and NCAA March Madness.
Streaming audio, digital video and paid social extended exposure across daily routines. And finally, we reinforced credibility through premium editorial environments, partnering with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal – leveraging the authority and trust of two of the world’s most respected publications.
The result was a campaign that punched far above its weight, creating the perception that Northwestern Medicine was everywhere physicians looked. Turning limited dollars into outsized influence.
The campaign delivered more than 45MM impressions against our physician audience – 10% over planned. Performance proved that we resonated with new markets with video completion rates in NC, TN, OH, MI, and GA 10-20% higher than Chicago. And aligning with NYT and WSJ paid off, driving engagement rates well above benchmarks. Our sponsored WSJ article, for instance, drove an average session time 2x the WSJ benchmark and a CTR 2.6x above engagement benchmark.
Year-over-year, unaided awareness amongst physicians in the test markets where our campaign ran jumped from 8% to 11%. Even more impressively, every image attribute score significantly improved, including attracts respected staff, cutting edge treatments and clinical trials, and handles complex cases, which all saw gains of at least 8+ points.
Through deeper, qualitative interviews, physicians expressed that our creative conveyed to them the innovation and complex care leadership demonstrated by Northwestern Medicine. Physicians described NM as an “innovation powerhouse” and “trailblazer” across healthcare disciplines as a direct result of our creative.
NOTE: RESULTS LISTED ARE CONFIDENTIAL
