Wouldn’t it be nice if health care services could fit into your life and schedule, not the other way around? Well, with UCHealth’s recent brand transformation, this idea is no longer that far-fetched.

Last Wednesday, UCHealth officially launched its new brand to internal stakeholders and residents across Colorado and the region. The launch event spanned the entire health system—involving all major hospitals and every satellite facility across the Front Range—and marked a symbolic moment for the organization, that today; UCHealth is now one unified health care system.

Taking the Road Less Traveled 

UCHealth’s inspiration and desire to take on a re-branding initiative was largely driven by the organization’s Chief Marketing and Experience Officer, Manny Rodriguez— a seasoned marketing executive who joined UCHealth from outside the health care industry. Having previously served as Senior Vice President of Santander Bank—a brand known for its personal and simple approach to retail banking—Manny saw firsthand the positive impact that delivering individual and consistent consumer experiences can have on a service organization looking to differentiate itself. It was this principle that served as the foundation for UCHealth’s new brand.

The concepts of patient-centricity and compassionate care are both widely accepted and over-used as a positioning idea in the world of health care. This forced us to find a way to bring new ideas to the table that describe how we treat patients as individuals.

Informed by robust quantitative and qualitative insights, we set out to define a brand that embodies the concept of individuality in a way that feels fresh, different, and lifestyle-driven.

UC Health Brand Book

The new UCHealth brand is built on the premise that health care should be about empowering people to live life on their own terms; it aims to celebrate living life to the fullest. Ultimately, UCHealth believes health care isn’t about helping people only when they are sick, but instead helping people live the most extraordinary lives possible.

We brought this premise to life across all high-impact touchpoints; from crafting a brand voice that conveys optimism, boldness, and dependability; to creating a visual identity that is centered around an arc— a symbol of an individual’s journey through life and the unique opportunity UCHealth has to touch each life somewhere on that arc; helping individuals chart their own extraordinary life journey.

UC Health Billboard

One Brand, One Health System 

UCHealth has a strong culture focused on providing great patient care and improving lives. The launch of this new brand presented a unique opportunity to build on this culture and unify the entire system around the belief that in order to provide the best possible experiences for our patients in their families, the process has to start internally.

To capitalize on this opportunity, UCHealth’s CEO Liz Concordia joined Manny, and the two traveled the Front Range, connecting with employees in each of health system’s three regions. Manny and Liz made key speeches, which were broadcast live to all UCHealth locations. And, it was during these speeches that Manny and Liz emphasized that a defined UCHealth brand unifies the organization in a powerful way— it sets a vision for the organization.

They also reinforced that in order for this vision to become a reality the UCHealth brand must live through each employee and physician. Over the course of the day, Manny and Liz spoke to the idea that UCHealth can make people’s lives extraordinary, but only by finding the extraordinary qualities within its employees first. By working together and honoring what makes each of us special, we foster a true human connection and become an extraordinary place to work and to offer care.

That is why the theme of the re-brand launch was “celebrating you,” the people of UCHealth. Because the people of UCHealth are the most important part of who and what the organization is. Every interaction with every individual, big and small, tells the world who UCHealth really is. Because in the end, what UCHealth offers isn’t just health care, it’s themselves.

This point was driven home with emotionally-impactful patient testimonials made throughout the day. At each location, employees and physicians were brought to tears (tears of joy) when hearing and seeing first-hand the impact their services had made on patients’ lives. Suddenly, the ideas Manny and Liz had been speaking to became even more real and tangible. It was clear in this moment that UCHealth really does put the “extra” in extraordinary.

After the speeches and patient testimonials, employees and physicians were invited into experience rooms to learn more about the new brand. Run by UCHealth’s brand ambassadors—a group of brand champions who volunteered their time to help educate and engage their peers on the new brand—the experience rooms provided an opportunity to learn how the new brand comes to life in the real world. One of the highlights of the experience rooms was the digital mosaic, where employees and physicians had the opportunity to literally put themselves in the new brand. This interactive experience digitally aggregated photos of employees in order to form the new UCHealth logo. Each employee photo was tagged with unique information about the individual and was searchable so employees across the organization could learn about their peers. The mosaic symbolizes how each individual at UCHealth is unique, and that collectively it is each individual coming together that makes UCHealth so extraordinary.

The final element of the experience room was the introduction of the new UCHealth Brand Center— an online hub centered on the principles of empathy, ease of use, and empowerment for UCHealth employees; that facilitates the ongoing education and growth of the brand through a best-in-class brand engagement and asset management platform.

 

It’s Only The Beginning 

With a group of committed brand champions, extensive brand training, and its brand center, UCHealth has the right people, processes, and tools in place to capitalize on a tremendous opportunity to create new brand experiences that will help propel, evolve, and sustain the brand for the next 18 months and beyond. And, while there has been a tremendous amount of growth and progress to date, the hard work is just beginning.

UC Brand Center Info On Tablet

Summarized aptly by Manny throughout his speeches on the day, “this launch day is like our wedding. The next 18 months and beyond is about the marriage, and that’s where the hard work truly begins.”

While the rebrand helps to contextualize who UCHealth is and creates a solid foundation for future growth, the brand launch is only the beginning of an extraordinary journey for UCHealth and the communities it serves. We are proud to have been a part of UCHealth’s brand transformation and are excited to see the next chapter unfold.

To learn more about the research that helped the UCHealth brand get to this point, and how we’re helping to ensure the brand is sustained past launch, read the full client story.

Chris Binding
February 13, 2017 By Chris Binding