Client: Schulze Eye & Surgery Center

Description:

Located in Savannah, the Schulze Eye & Surgery Center is a highly regarded ophthalmology practice and independent Ambulatory Surgery Center, the first and only ASC dedicated solely to eye surgery in Southeast Georgia. The practice consists of Dr. Richard Schulze, Sr. and his son, Richard Schulze, Jr. Together, they have performed tens of thousands of eye surgeries with an enviable record of success.

Situation:

Even though Dr. Schulze, Sr. was one of Savannah's first fellowship-trained, board-certified surgeons when he began practicing nearly 40 years ago, by the late nineties the competitive marketplace had become much more crowded. Improvements in technology also allowed less skilled surgeons to achieve results nearly as good.

Feeling the need to grow, the practice began investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing every year. As many professional services firms are tempted to do, Schulze bought syndicated TV, radio and print advertising shells that were then “customized” with the name, address and phone number of their practice. While the ads were professionally made, and did a good job selling the problem, they fell way short on giving the viewer any reason to select Schulze over its competition. Despite the very high levels of spending, this syndicated approach failed to generate any meaningful increase in business.

Strategy:

In early 2005, Dr. Schulze, Jr. contacted Anderson to see what we might be able to bring to the table. After an initial consultation, Anderson recommended that the Schulzes invest in a strategic brand development process before any advertising was developed. The brand review would identify the most impactful Unique Selling Proposition for the practice as well as quantify the market opportunity by county in Southeast Georgia and Beaufort County, South Carolina.

Results:

The agency embarked on a 115-hour engagement over the course of the next few months. At the end of the process, the client had a strategically sound brand strategy and creative platform from which effective creative communications would be derived.

They also better understood where the greatest concentration of their best targets lived and how best to reach them. Along with the creative work, the agency also produced a targeted media plan that gave the practice visibility 11 months per year - while spending less than half of what they had spent in years past.

The campaign launched in November of 2006 utilizing underwriting sponsorships on Public Radio in Georgia and South Carolina along with magazine and newspaper ads in the Savannah and Beaufort markets.

The lesson here is that even smaller companies can benefit greatly by taking a strategic approach to their communications needs.