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

 

The Company

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.

 

The Challenge

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  The current literature was either outdated or, in many cases, nonexistent for certain departments.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. 

 

The Outcome

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

JPT@spectrumcopywriting.com

www.spectrumcopywriting.com

 

 

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