Sanford Health Improving the Human Condition

Accepting the largest single gift ever given to a hospital, $400 million, the CEO of Sioux Valley Health System, Kelby Krabbenhoft, said, "This is an opportunity that comes once in a hundred lifetimes, if at all."

The CEO's statement came at an event that culminated a year-long planning effort with Lawrence and Schiller, and, in one hour, successfully transformed a mission and a 100-year-old brand to 15,000 employees, while at the same time transforming a local brand to a national healthcare audience.

The Gift, as the $400M donation came to be known, was at the center of the campaign, to highlight and emphasize the broad-reaching initiatives of the newly-named Sanford Health:

• Ensure the development of services, facilities and the recruitment of physicians specifically focused on children by establishing five pediatric clinics in areas of need around the country
• Allow significant growth at Sanford Research and include the creation of the Sanford Pediatric Institute, which will focus on the health research needs of children
• Accomplish world-changing results by applying focus to identify and then resolve one of the most pressing health issues of our day through the Sanford Project
• Provide dedicated development zones for each distinct, yet related facility design with emphasis on patient care, research and education, as well as advances in technology by developing the Sanford Healthcare Campus of the Future

The Challenge

The challenge to the agency began when long-time client Kelby Krabbenhoft came to L&S with a vision of how Sioux Valley Health System could have a national impact on healthcare. The initial campaign was micro-targeted, specifically to an audience of one.

As a result of a long-fostered relationship between Sioux Valley executives and billionaire Denny Sanford, the vision of Sioux Valley leaders was brought to life through a five-minute video clip -created by Lawrence & Schiller- that affected Mr. Sanford so powerfully that he offered $400 million to make Mr. Krabbenhoft's vision become a reality.

When Krabbenhoft first previewed the video that L&S put together to help convince Mr. Sanford that his money would be used for the right cause, he leaned over and told VP of Multimedia Services Mark Glissendorf, "You got it."

The next step in the process for L&S and Sanford Health was to ensure that people not only knew the brand was changing, but understood why the brand was changing.

In order to achieve this goal, a press conference for "a major change to Sioux Valley Health System" was held with over 2,500 Sioux Valley executives, employees and dignitaries packed into a historic theatre. L&S and Sanford crafted and executed an hour and a half presentation focusing on the transformational campaign and Sanford's goals for the future. More importantly, they conveyed how The Gift impacted each of them, the community, the region and the country.

By the end of the presentation, those most closely affiliated with Sioux Valley embraced and became ambassadors for the health system's expanded role.

Building the New Brand

Entering into the design of the new brand, the agency conducted research and focus group testing which showed a high level of recognition with an extreme amount of loyalty and trust to the existing name, Sioux Valley.

Using those results, Lawrence & Schiller was able to evolve the brand identity and put the necessary actions and messages that would convert loyal stakeholders to embrace the Sanford brand.

The Gift campaign incorporated market research, branding, public relations, employee communications, an interactive website and a national multimedia advertising campaign.

Results

Within one week of the announcement, the new brand dominated the news cycle and media and was quickly accepted into the everyday conversations of the region. "Our integrated approach was so successful that we believe our message was largely delivered by the end of the weekend," said Glissendorf. "We had originally planned to run the campaign for up to 13 weeks and cut it short after 4."

Within days of the announcement, the health system was receiving inquiries from around the country from other healthcare organizations. It also helped jumpstart Sanford Health's goals.

Summary

"The message internally at the agency became, 'Go ahead...dream big; we'll get you there,'" said Glissendorf.

Sanford and Lawrence & Schiller enjoy an award-winning relationship, and The Gift campaign continues to help transform a nationally recognized institution.