APTA Marketing Rises Again...

The 'same song, different story' nature of these APTA marketing posts is getting a bit old. I frankly am tired of criticizing, but this was one that could not easily be overlooked. Have you seen the APTA's 2007 APTA 'Healthy Living' calendar? A 2007 APTA BODs swimsuit edition calendar would have been a better sell. The picture and caption for each month is Blackberry Thumb X 12. Just a small sampling:

Feb 2007 – Kids climbing walls – ‘Climbing the Walls Together’

Recreational therapy anyone?

Apr 2007 – Gardening – ‘Cultivate Your Health’

The caption actually states that you should start a stretching and strengthening program 2-3 weeks in advance of gardening activities to prepare yourself for all the lifts, bends, pulls, and lunges that come from gardening. Really?

June 2007 – Lateral Epicondylitis – ‘Don’t Let Tennis Elbow Sideline Your Youngster’

Did I just mis-read that caption, or does it actually say that? Please name one child you have ever treated for lateral epicondylitis?

July 2007 – ‘Play Hard with Strong Muscles’

I want to be sensitive here. The photo shows a woman sitting in a wheelchair. However, she looks rather healthy and is at bat in a softball game. Now, the caption deals with osteoporosis. The only problem is that the woman can’t be older than 40 years of age. Assuming she has brittle bone disease, softball would also not be my first choice of recreational activity!

Dec 2007 – Snowboarding – ‘Safe Snowboarding’

Did you know that 12 weeks of conditioning prior to venturing onto the slopes reduces the risk of injury?

This is just a sample. December 2006 was actually another round of Blackberry Thumb. I can't beat this one up anymore. It's no wonder consumers have little idea what the large majority of physical therapists do day in and day out in their practice. From the consumer's perspective, at least I know who to see if I dig too big a hole in my garden and experience a sudden onset of acute wrist pain. How about back, neck, and shoulder pain? Is that something that physical therapists commonly treat, or am I mistakenly confusing that with a recent epidemic of childhood lateral epicondylitis?....

I apologize if this comes across as harsh, but I am actually being very nice. I previously committed not to rant about Couch Potato Exercise anymore. I am now committing to not ever post again about the lack of APTA's marketing prowess (I can't speak for the rest of the EIM team:)). The horse is dead. Lest you perceive me as negative, I remain an optimist that our best days remain ahead. I hope you will join me as one of APTA's biggest supporters. If you are not a member, your membership and input is needed now more than ever before. They actually do many good things for the physical therapy profession (marketing just not one of them). Click here to join APTA now.

John

Comments

[Rob Landel]

John:

I agree with you: that was a bit of a rant!

Having said that, I also agree with your point: APTA is weak at advertising.

Never one to point out a problem without posing a possible solution, here's what I suggest:

Can we use the Power of the Post to solicit marketing ideas, gather evidence, create some sound bites, identify outlets, develop a plan? Of course we could! I'm not a webologist so I wouldn't know where to start to build a place where this could happen, but I suggest the EIM Team might have the expertise... And those who haunt this site no doubt have a few ideas on how to focus a good light on PT.

What do you say, folks?

Let's see, how to get the ball rolling...

Pick up a tube of toothpaste; who do you see right there? ADA and dentists...

Pick up pretty much any popular magazine right now (e.g. post-holiday eating binge, pre-swimsuit period) and read all the Ways to Work Off That Christmas Turkey/Slim Down for Summer articles. Written by whom? Pretty much anyone but PT's. Who gets tied to exercise and fitness in the public's eye? Pretty much anyone but PT.

Quick responses to articles in the popular press (see Larry's earlier post on A PR Campaign...): letters to the editor for a start; proactive articles of our own (85% of the "news" is manufactured).

The Governator broke his leg? What profession is treating that?

War wounded? Problems with medical care for veterans? Where are we with that?

Big Pharma marketing directly to the patient? Big Pharma "creating" patients? Is that a successful strategy? Damn right it is. Can we mirror that strategy?

I KNOW the folks here can answer the questions and provide the answers! Let's go, people!

OK, I'm going to lie down now...

Rob L.

[Kerrie]

I haven't seen the calendar so I cannot speak to the quality of the message. I will refrain from judgement at this point.

I do want to point out a couple of things as it pertains to the media, PR, and marketing. First, when it comes to putting out stories/information to the media (whether active solicitation, press releases etc), if the media doesn't find the story intriguing enough for its readers/viewers/listeners, its not going to cover it. So, we could have a great story on how PT is the first and best choice for treatment of spine dysfunction, but if the media doesn't like it, it's not going to get picked up and covered. That's not to say we shouldn't try to get this kind of message out to the public/consumer. We certainly should, but whose to say that APTA's PR/Marketing dept isn't trying to. Stories like Blackberry Thumb become wide-spread most likely because they are picked up by a variety of media outlets as something that will catch their audience's attention, not because APTA shoved it down their throats.

I would also like to throw out a couple of questions as food for thought for readers. How much PR/marketing work have you each done on behalf of the profession? Any letters to the editor? Any articles written in local press or stories covered by local media? I will admit that I have done next to nothing. Although APTA certainly must pull its weight in the PR/Marketing arena, everyone must do their part.

[John Childs]

I know you are well intended, but you appear to subscribe to the theory that any PR is good PR. This may well be true in the celebrity business. As an example, Britney Spears gets more popular by the day the deeper she sinks into drug addiction. Anna Nicole Smith has never been more famous than since her death, etc. However, this is a very weak argument when it comes to marketing a legitimate health care profession like PT. The only thing that matters in health care marketing ultimately is increasing referrals and having consumers think PT when they have a problem. Patients are extremely unlikely to have blackberry thumb (never seen it, in fact). For sure, there is an almost nill chance for kids to come down with an acute episode of tennis elbow. And I have for sure never once counseled a patient about a strengthening program to improve their gardening prowess. APTA has to stop thinking about all of the niche areas that PT’s try to fulfill (health, wellness, fitness, etc.) and attempt to describe the 80% that we do. Testimonials, emotional connections, and associations of a PT and not physical therapy are needed. Patients don’t take “therapy”. They go to a physical therapist. It will offend the 20%...so what. APTA’s marketing strategy is currently enslaved to a minority of the profession. What has EIM, AAOMPT, and many others done to market PT for what it actually is for the large majority?...I could spend days typing. The solutions are frankly easy and have been repeatedly communicated. I could go on and on with ideas. Forgive me for being blunt, but I have no confidence that current APTA marketing leadership is listening or even capable. They rather seem only interested in defending 1970s marketing of PT. I used to subscribe to the opinion that APTA marketing was mostly a passive, impotent bystander (problem enough itself). My own personal opinion now is that they are actually causing harm. I no longer wonder why the majority of consumers are confused when they think that PTs amount to postural counselors who help people stretch better. A fierce and open debate would be a breath of fresh air.

John

[Kerrie]

No, I don't subscribe to the idea that any PR is good PR.

I don't want you to get CTS from all the typing so can you just hit the highlights of what EIM, AAOMPT, and others have done to market PT to the consumer? I am very interested. Also, have you shared your success and ideas directly with PR/Marketing at APTA?

[JR]

John-absolutely hilarious post (and equally as angering). What is worse is that you are soliciting people to join the APTA after reading the bunch of crap that they just spent all my good dues $ on. I want to support my profession, but it makes it harder when I see this garbage. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

[Derek Eastman]

John, I cannot agree with you enough, and I understand why you can rant about the poor marketing and continue to support the APTA. When I feel that something is wrong in my workplace or even my home, I do not abandon it, but rather I attempt to bring to the attention of all the involved parties what I feel the problem is and what can be done to fix the issue. I think that by attempting to change the philosophy of the APTA and how they market the services of therapists is both noble and daunting. We were in a chapter meeting last night bringing up the issue of recreation therapists, and whether or not we as physical therapists need to be concerned with the encroachment upon our role as physical therapists by a recreational therapist. If we spent more time making people (ie referring practitioners and the general public) about what we are really doing, and very good at, we would not have to worry about the recreational therapists encroaching upon our territory. Let's stop trying to venture out and create another niche, but rather focus on making sure that we are transitioning the therapists that are already working in traditional facilities to a better, more evidence based care, then market that to the public. If we can manage that, we could market the fact that we are more responsive to the research than the average physician, that may do wonders for our marketing.

[Selena Horner]

Logistically, the APTA does have a hurdle with nationwide marketing. The practice acts in all of the states are different. In order to hit the important issues, the process needs to change. For example... to target low back pain - create the image and the message, but the final product is required to go through the state chapter to individualize the message for that chapter's practice act. It would then become the responsibility of the state chapter to perform the actual marketing.

There are some creative ways to get our image out there: airports (there are lots of HUGE poster advertisements - some even for orthopaedic surgeons), international flights (the importance of moving to decrease risk of DVT for some passengers - message would be with the movie), movie theaters (lots of commercials before the movie begins), radio commercials, myspace - set our image for that population maybe more as a potential career path, target women - an ad in Good Housekeeping or something...

John, you may be ripping on the message, but now honestly, who does that message reach? You may irritated with the message, but reality is that no one actually sees it. I have never, ever seen or heard any marketing by the APTA in the world I live.

[John Ware]

My colleagues and I are presenting at the monthly worker's comp meeting here in Ft. Wayne on "Evidence-Based Practice in OMPT." We are going to focus on the recent research on CPR's. The audience includes RN case managers, adjusters, wc attorneys, and usually a couple of physiatrists and/or orthopods. Many of our colleages will be in attendence as well. We see it as an opportunity to "spread the word," thereby making the pie bigger. PT's in local markets need to find common ground from which to market. POPTs, however, are a huge problem with that.
John

[Eric Robertson]

While POPTS only contribute to our problems, I'm not sure the fault lies solely with POPTS in the matter of marketing. Due to their overwhelming dependence on physician referrals, very few PTs really need to do any direct marketing at all. In my POPTS-free, SC town, the PT facilities do ZERO marketing other than directly to the doctors. In turn, the doctors create an anti-competitive environment by setting up appointments for the patients that they refer to PT. For these companies, any cash spent on marketing to the public is wasted $$, as the public really doesn't decide. Overall, PT's have very little incentive to budget cash for marketing directly to the public. This contributes poorly to the growth of the profession; and it's a problem that will need to be overcome if any full scale marketing campaign is to succeed. I know there are many of us out there who depend heavily on direct marketing. And, incentive or not, even those getting referrals only from the docs should realize they would benefit from greater consumer awareness, just as the drug companies have. As for me personally, I have a fondness for writing, so I write columns for a local paper and contribute to another local publication's blog on matters not just of physical therapy, but "health and science" in general. Neither require any capital and they allow me to help expand awareness of our field in sometimes creative, and subtle ways.

ERIC

[John Ware]

I meant that POPTs was a problem from the standpoint of PT's working from a common ground to increase the size of the market. I'm in a town where the two large orthopedic practices have their own PT departments. They have a guaranteed referral base. Those PT departments do not have much of an incentive to work with our PT-owned practice in direct marketing activities to the public. And we don't have much interest in cooperating with them to increase the size of the pie, when they haven't necessarily earned the piece they've already got! I know SC just went through some very rancorous anti-POPTs battles, which have ostensibly been a help to the PT profession. The truth is a bit more complicated, of course. Nonetheless, POPTs is a big marketing problem for PTs.
John

[Eric Robertson]

It is fair to comment on today's Special Edition PT Bulletin: "Community Awareness Grants Now Available for Components." Here is a good example of the APTA offering some help, but it's still up to each component to come up with a good plan.

[Selena Horner]

You know... I was thinking about the calendar topics. The majority seem to fall in a category of prevention. We can definitely have a role in the area of prevention. Medicare has a nice package of preventative services now that are reimbursed - osteoporosis and balance and falls are two areas we could definitely be key players. Since the APTA wants to promote prevention, it would be even more welcomed to see some ICD-9 codes or communication with third party payors to recognize the value we could bring preventatively and actually be reimbursed for preventative services.

[Eric Robertson]

Please check out this news link that popped up in my Google News alert for "Physical Therapy." It is what happens when WE are not the one doing the marketing. I wonder how many people this article will cause to pause before going to PT? Maybe they will go get some pain meds instead. Ok, I'm sure the Southeast Farm Press has a limited readership, but still. I know Larry has touched on this in terms of reducing the impression in the public eye that PT = Pain .

"Pain threshold too low for torture"
http://southeastfarmpress.com/news_archive/031407-pain-threshold/