Welcome to WRITING MATTERS, celebrating the value of good
writing in the business world.
This month WRITING MATTERS celebrates its third
anniversary!!!
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VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 – SEPTEMBER 2010
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This Month's Case Study – South Coast Hospital
South Coast Hospital was a small, privately-owned hospital
operating in a suburb of a large metropolitan area. Having opened nearly 30 years ago, South Coast was a respected institution
in the community.
Despite some financial problems in recent years, the hospital was in the middle of a resurgence of sorts. Thanks to a generous gift from a local benefactor, the place had been given new life, including some remodeling and updating of equipment. The marketing manager, Katherine, wanted to continue this momentum with some new brochures and pamphlets throughout the hospital. The current literature was either outdated or, in many cases, nonexistent for certain departments. Katherine definitely wanted to take advantage of this rebranding opportunity.
Katherine’s goals were simple: a general brochure about the hospital, plus assorted pamphlets for each department. She envisioned a series of informational pieces that would communicate the hospital’s services as a whole. The brochures and pamphlets could be simple in design, focusing primarily on the content. Katherine had no one on staff, however, who could write or design the materials, so she needed to find some creative talent to help her reach her goals.
The
Solution
Fortunately, Katherine had an old copywriting contact from her previous job at another hospital. It had been a few years, but she actually met the writer once to discuss a marketing project. Lamentably, there were budgetary issues and Katherine soon left for her new position at South Coast, thus losing track of the writer. Luckily, she had saved his business card, and decided to give him a call.
Katherine wondered if Alan the copywriter was still in
business – he seemed to be doing well at the time, but that was prior to the
recent economic downturn. Katherine’s
fears were put to rest when Alan answered the phone. He remembered her and wondered where she had disappeared to! The two discussed Katherine’s project needs
at length and Alan said he would be happy to put together a proposal. Because they had met in the past, Katherine
felt comfortable with Alan’s background and experience. He referred her to his web site to check out
some writing samples and learn more about how he conducted business.
Katherine asked if they should meet in person, but Alan said
he was getting enough information over the phone to accurately determine a
price quote. He said he would email the
quote to her the next day, and if she had any questions, to not hesitate in
giving him a call.
Although Alan’s quote was for copywriting services only, he
did offer design services through a graphic designer he had partnered with many
times in the past. Katherine had a
graphic artist in mind, but asked Alan to quote the additional services just in
case things didn’t work out on her end.
Unfortunately, Katherine’s graphic designer contact was
unavailable for the project, so Alan’s full-service rate quote appeared to be
the most convenient and cost-effective alternative. Rather than having to find another graphic designer on her own,
Katherine was pleased that Alan knew someone who could step in right away.
After reviewing his quote, Katherine sent Alan a deposit
check and looked forward to beginning work on the project. Katherine was very organized and had most of
the raw content at hand, thus making things easier for Alan and his designer
friend, Alice. Within one week, work
began on the brochures and pamphlets, and the process went very smoothly. For a while, in fact, it looked as if they
would complete the entire project via email and telephone, without any
in-person meetings necessary!
Alan and Alice eventually met with Katherine at the
hospital, just to get a feel for the environment and review their initial
drafts of work. Katherine was pleased
with their progress, and the three made revisions here and there to fine tune
the details.
Within one month, Alan and Alice completed work on two new
brochures and six new pamphlets, effectively telling the story of South Coast
Hospital and what it offered in the way of care and services. All items had a consistent look and feel,
which meant a huge improvement over the old, outdated materials.
Katherine was very happy with the results and approved the
final versions before being sent to the printer. The new literature perfectly complemented the hospital’s recent
revitalization efforts, and Katherine was proud of Alan’s and Alice’s work.
Katherine’s next goals included a redesigned web site and
perhaps a booklet about the history of South Cost Hospital – and, fortunately,
she had a writer and graphic designer she could count on for these and other
future projects.
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The next issue of WRITING MATTERS will be out October 1st.
Have a great month!
John Paul Tancredi, Copywriter/Consultant
Spectrum Copywriting Services
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