Super-accessible medical care, or the new image of the Polmed brand

Stereotypically, a visit to a doctor is associated with queues and long waiting times for specialist tests. Such associations do not fit at all with the increasingly large-scale private networks of medical facilities, offering their clients a higher standard of services than the average public clinics. These entities take special care of their image, communicating such values ​​as: individual approach, focus on the needs of the patient, safety, trust.

The Polmed network of facilities has been operating since 1999, offering services in the scope of primary and specialist health care for individuals, companies and institutions. The network is developing very intensively – it currently includes 14 modern Medical Centers located in the largest cities of Poland and provides medical care for over 70,000 employees from over 1,300 companies. At the same time, until the end of 2010, Polmed was the least recognizable brand among its competitors.

The economic crisis and the gradual saturation of the private medical services market encourage companies to increasingly aggressive promotional activities. After the debut on the Stock Exchange, the Management Board of Polmed S.A. considered it necessary to make changes to the brand’s communication and adapt it to the pace of network development.

The implementation of this process was entrusted to the FBD creative team – its task was to create a unique identity that would distinguish the Polmed brand from the competition and to prepare a plan of integrated promotional activities that would increase recognition and build the brand’s image in the minds of recipients.

After recognizing the initial situation of the Polmed brand, creative work began. The starting point was to create a new identity, i.e. to define a unique arrangement of features that positively distinguish the brand from the competition. Identity reflects the desired way in which consumers perceive the brand – it is the basis for the creation of ideas, opinions and associations that make up the brand image (its image that actually functions in the minds of recipients). Identity is expressed in communicated values: emotional (conveyed in the visual layer of the message, building the atmosphere around the brand and influencing the recipient’s well-being during contact with it) and rational (conveyed in the verbal layer, making the brand’s message credible and building the recipient’s trust).

In the context of the results of the analysis, it was decided to build the uniqueness of the Polmed brand based on values ​​such as: speed of response from doctors, easy access to high-class specialists, safety and commitment of staff. The brand’s promise was to respect the patient’s health and time.

The brand name remained unchanged, but the logo underwent a minor facelift (the descriptive form “We care about your health” was removed). The square used in the logotype, rotated by 45°, became the basis for creating other communication elements (such as Polmed icons), and the image of Aesculapius contained in it appears in the brand’s leitmotif (as a superhero symbol). A warm orange accent was added to the initial blue-navy blue color scheme. The slogan “Super-accessible medical care” communicates a key benefit for the patient – quick access to a specialist. The guidelines for creating the brand’s key visual (its graphic leitmotif) are the desired emotional values. In the creative motif of the Polmed brand, it was decided to present the characters of doctors in an unconventional way. The doctor-superhero (based on the character of Superman from the Marvel comic book) stands in a characteristic pose and has his attributes: a characteristic cape and a special symbol (a combination of the logotype element and the Superman symbol). These elements identify the Polmed brand with the strength, caring and speed of Superman.

The designed KV allows for its expansion and adaptation to various brand communication contexts. Maintaining the arrangement of its basic elements allows for maintaining the brand’s communication coherence, while at the same time diversifying its message. For example, the general shape of the superhero symbol can appear on various surfaces (on an athlete’s T-shirt, on the skin of a sunbathing person), thus connecting the message with the Polmed brand.

The FBD team was responsible for the entire chain rebranding process – including the visual identification of medical facilities. The work was carried out comprehensively, from dimensioning and preparing technical specifications to designing and manufacturing all elements and their assembly.

The final stage of work on the new image of the Polmed brand was to design coherent utility and promotional materials and codify the entire visual identification system of the brand in the form of a Corporate Book.

On 1.10, the time came to present the results of the work to a wider group of recipients – an integrated promotional campaign began, the aim of which is to increase recognition and build the image of the Polmed brand. Two websites were also launched, which were created in cooperation with the interactive agency eFresh. The website dedicated to patients was created with the aim of facilitating and streamlining their contact with clinics, the Investor Relations Service provides stakeholders with comprehensive and transparent information on the current situation of the company on an ongoing basis.

The changes introduced in the communication of the Polmed brand were received enthusiastically in all target groups (both patients and employees). The new communication is the basis for further development of the network – perhaps even more dynamically.