Pretty Poison: When Graphics Kill Your Healthcare Marketing
Message
Six fatal design flaws that can muzzle your results-and
what to do instead.
The effectiveness of even good-looking marketing
materials can be poisoned by any of these classic design flaws.
Here's how to spot the most common art and visual mistakes
in the making and what to do instead.
It's practically impossible to describe excellent healthcare
marketing materials.
It is an elusive mix of creativity that brings together exactly
the right combination of words, images, color, space, and
a hundred other things to produce a medical service brochure,
an upscale magazine ad or a hospital website.
Perhaps "good" is best defined as what works effectively
and efficiently for a specific purpose and a specific audience.
Great design and superb copy work together seamlessly. The
meaning is clear, the message is compelling, and the reader
is involved and motivated.
But watch out for the "pretty poison" — design
mistakes that might look good, but are fatal to your healthcare
marketing message. Even exceptional writing is never read
when the art, visuals, and/or graphics are out of whack.
Here are some of the classic killers we've seen in our consulting
experience, plus a few words of guidance about what to do
instead.
1. Mistaking "pretty" for effective.
Unfortunately, the subjective likes and dislikes of you and/or
your staff don't count. The objective is to communicate effectively,
not win a design contest. And the real test is if the target
audience sees and responds in the way you planned.
Instead: Put your personal taste aside -
you are not the audience. You're going for a graphic "look-and-feel"
that appeals to the people you w ant to notice your message.
It is possible to test marketing effectiveness, and ultimately,
it is TRACKING that decides Return-on-Investment.
2. Assume any visual will do; just make the words support
the art.
This is when someone picks a "cute" visual first
and then writes the headline and text as an attempt at context.
We've seen hospital billboards and medical care ads where,
for example, the main visual was a kid on a playground sliding
board; the (painfully contrived) headline was: "Don't
let your primary care healthcare decisions slide." It's
down right painful to think of the wasted media dollars and
unrecoverable opportunity.
Instead: Think of your audience and your
message first. Visuals, headlines and text must work together
smoothly. Don't expect the reader to de-code a message using
out of place graphics, or thought-tripping heads and text.
Blend words and visuals that connect with the reader and communicate
a benefit.
3. Poor layout means poor eye flow, and that equals lost
patients.
Out-of-control layout — when the type or pictures are
too large or too small for example — disguises your message
amid visual confusion. The reader doesn't know where to look
first, or how to follow what's presented. In the mind of the
reader, it's just easier to ignore a "jumbled" presentation.
Instead: Readability is the test. Keep visuals,
heads, and text areas in balance and easy for the eye to track
on the page or screen. Occasional emphasis or highlights are
OK using bold type, sub-heads, and white space. Overall, reading
the brochure, healthcare advertisement or blog must have a
natural flow to the message.
4. Over-do everything
If the design is overwhelming, it's too much. Using every design
trick in the Graphic
Artist's Handbook isn't a plus-it's a net zero. Like throwing-in
everything on the spice rack in the hope the soup will taste
better.
Instead: Begin with a minimalist approach
to graphics and design. The techniques which sell the message
are those that give accent and understanding without overpowering.
5. Bland is not beautiful.
The design opposite of "over-do" is graphic understatement.
We see this when a medical group, healthcare practice or hospital
doesn't want to appear to be doing ads that are "noisy"
or "unprofessional." The downside result is a marketing
message is too bland to grab any attention at all. Low profile
becomes no profile, with no results.
Instead: Good taste and professional messaging
in medical marketing can be done effectively without graphically
screaming or whispering. Here's where engaging headlines,
interesting visuals, tasteful use of color and contrast can
carry the point..
6. Your sister-in-law can do it.
No in-law disrespect intended, don't look for a shortcut.
If your relative (friend, colleague, neighbor, or bowling
partner) isn't a trained, professional, graphic artist experienced
in marketing and advertising, they are likely to make these
mistakes or others. For best results, use an Art Director
level graphic artist WITH a professional copywriter. (Copy
is where the results really come from, but that is a subject
for another day.)
Instead: There are really only two options;
either use an experienced creative team, or save your money.
This is where artistic talent meets the canvas. At best, it's
not easy to create effective materials with the right blend
and balance of compelling text and excellent graphics and
visuals. It's even harder to critique your own work.
If you'd like to steer clear of these doses of 'pretty poison'
in the first place, just give us a call today at (800)
656-0907. We'd love to talk about how to efficiently
reach your healthcare marketing goals with great creative
materials.
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