Marketing sets the stage. Comms brings it to life. Together, they help shape the patient experience.

Insights from Built to Attract, The Evolution of Hiring: Moving from Recruitment to Attraction. Kindle edition, paperback and hardcover are available now at Amazon.com.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Mid-Atlantic Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (MASHSMD) Conference in Dewey Beach, Delaware—and what an energizing few days! From thought-provoking sessions to meaningful connections (and yes, a few too many orange crushes), this year’s gathering was truly one to remember. I was fortunate to be […]

Your brand promise isn’t tested when things are easy—it’s tested in a crisis. Are you ready?

If you know us, you know we believe that steady growth isn’t just about numbers—it’s about people. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce exciting leadership promotions and strategic hires that will help us serve our clients more effectively and creatively than ever before. First, we’re proud to welcome Alex Parkowski to the ownership team. As […]

Is your messaging consistent across teams? A strong message platform keeps your brand aligned and clear.

As AI reshapes recruitment, even well-meaning automation can undermine a carefully built candidate experience. Explore how using tools like agentic AI can impact your EVP, and how to strike the right balance between innovation and human connection.

In a spirited twist on rivalry and goodwill, AB&C’s billboard stunt outside Arrowhead Stadium generated national buzz, rallied fans on both sides, and raised funds for charities in Philadelphia and Kansas City.

Candidates expect more than a one-size-fits-all experience that doesn’t reflect their unique needs and motivations during the hiring process. And if they do get what feels like a generic candidate journey, they just might move on. This can be especially true for top talent who know their worth. Persona-led candidate journeys can play an essential […]

Authentic employee stories — from quick Q&As to full video series — are your most powerful tool for attracting talent, building trust, and turning your people into proud advocates.

From the MLB to local leagues, sports sponsorships are putting healthcare brands in the spotlight—and in the heart of their communities.

In a market where ghosting has gone both ways, a respectful candidate experience isn’t just kind—it’s a business advantage that protects your brand and bottom line.

During the big game, expect brands to treat AI as a tool rather than the centerpiece of creativity—using it to streamline production while relying on bold storytelling and nostalgic nods to capture consumer attention. Each commercial break will become a strategic battleground where innovative ideas meet time-tested branding, ensuring that every ad reinforces a consistent, memorable narrative.

Find out what it means for users, brands, and the future.

Disagreement sparks innovation—why healthy debate is essential for creativity at AB&C.

Unlock $1.2M in revenue: The key to faster physician hires.

Your job postings speak volumes—ensure they’re polished, professional, and applicant-friendly.

The one-agency-does-it-all model is outdated. Discover how collaboration is driving smarter strategies.

A year-round, strategic recruitment checklist keeps you ahead, ready to attract top talent and fill roles efficiently—whatever the season.

Discover how working together can elevate your EVP, improve talent acquisition, and highlight company culture.

The joy of advertising is still here; we just need to reconnect with it. Here’s how we’re doing it.

Unlock recruitment marketing secrets every new marketer should know today.

Learn how to engage physicians through recognition days, testimonials, tech-focused content, and more. Boost trust, highlight innovation, and showcase your organization’s commitment to clinician well-being. Let’s make your recruitment efforts stand out!

Marketing and fantasy football may seem unrelated, but both involve strategic thinking and understanding behavior. By applying principles like avoiding the sunk-cost fallacy, leveraging biases, and using key data, you can gain a competitive edge in your fantasy league.

Discover how simplifying the application process can enhance the candidate experience and boost your recruitment ROI.

Empower your employer brand with an authentic allyship program—because everyone deserves someone in their corner.

Here are some essential tips to help you craft effective job titles for Indeed, ensuring your listings are clear, concise, and optimized for search visibility. .

Unlock your recruitment potential with creativity! By leveraging storytelling, crafting candidate-focused job descriptions, and attracting culture-enhancing individuals, you can transform your hiring process and build a dynamic team.

If your job postings are yielding fewer results, it’s time to rethink your strategy. Enhancing your recruitment efforts creatively and proactively can rejuvenate your approach, attract higher quality candidates, and fill positions more efficiently.

Learn how to attract diverse candidates, reduce bias, and improve retention by crafting genuinely welcoming postings that maximize ROI and reduce time-to-fill.

Unlock the secrets to crafting compelling job descriptions that attract top talent by putting yourself in the candidate’s shoes and crafting engaging narratives.

Discover how to transform your workplace into a beacon of positivity and loyalty, boosting employee advocacy and brand strength.

Create a candidate magnet and boost engagement with expert tips on job descriptions, hiring events, and other content that converts.

Harnessing genuine employee experiences can revolutionize your recruitment and out-preform traditional marketing strategies to attract top talent.

Is it time to revitalize your EVP by updating it based on current trends, backed by research, and aligned with authentic company purpose?

Discover how you can revolutionize your recruitment strategy and ensure top visibility for your job listings.

Healthcare’s success hinges on recruiting talent by aligning with Millennial and Gen Z trends and preferences.

What you do on your social media pages to support the buyer’s journey can have a significant impact on sales of products and/or services.

Physician vacancies cost healthcare millions in lost revenue and increased operational costs, jeopardizing sustainability.

Consider AI for drafting job descriptions but rely on human insight for quality and brand alignment.

Boost your hiring by enhancing the online candidate experience—our upcoming series will show you how.

Introducing a new measure of an employer’s brand strength that is more inclusive than Net Promoter Score.

Year-round, AB&Cers engage in individual volunteer activities, and the agency as a whole offers opportunities to support local causes through events such as community walks, donations drives and more. But as a marketing communications agency that is always focused on innovating stronger strategies, we decided in May 2023 that it was time to apply “strategy” to elevate our impact on our neighbors and neighborhoods.

On July 5, Meta launched its Twitter competitor: Threads, an Instagram App. Appearing in the App Store a day ahead of the announced launch date, Threads attracted at least 10 million signups—including celebrities, brands and political figures—within seven hours of launch, according to Meta. Billed as “a new app for sharing text updates and joining […]

As the world slowly but surely starts to open up again, travel enthusiasts everywhere are itching to get out and explore their own backyard. Whether it’s a day trip to a nearby county or a weekend getaway to a city, the concept of being a “local tourist” has never been more appealing. In fact, according […]

AB&C recently conducted a survey of consumers in the five-county Philadelphia region, Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware. The survey covered topics including upcoming local travel plans and preferences, anticipated day and overnight trips, key catalysts for deciding to visit new places, as well as preferred media for learning about destinations and attractions. Below is […]

Research provides insights on attitudes and preferences for future travel. More than three-quarters (78%) of travelers from Greater Philadelphia are very or somewhat likely to travel in 2022, with 69% stating they are likely to visit a regional destination within 250 miles of their home. This data comes from a travel survey of 200 consumers […]

A couple months ago, I went to Phoenix on a business trip. While there, I went to several restaurants. At many of them, it seemed as if the pandemic didn’t exist. People were welcome without masks, often without the familiar request to wear a mask until you get to your table. Yet, in one restaurant […]

Maybe you’ve heard of Skin So Soft? Avon thought it was a skin moisturizer (and it is), but the public bought it for another reason. It turned out to be a bang-up insect repellant as well. So good, in fact, that today Avon makes a second product: Skin So Soft Bug Guard. Avon isn’t among […]

Think of a food court on the ground floor of a commercial building. At lunchtime, all the people who work in the offices upstairs are going to want to have lunch somewhere. And if you’re one of the businesses in the food court, you probably spend your nights dreaming of ways to outdo your neighbors […]

When you market attractions, it’s natural to want to show that attraction in advertising. The curator spent hours getting that exhibit together. Your boss spent millions on that new ride. Everyone loves that vista. It feels almost unfair not to show these things. But especially this year, relying on photography may be a challenge. Chances […]

Most of the marketing world is based on precedents. We base our metrics and budgets on prior years’ results. We schedule the same way — peak season and off-season, planning time, production time, media buying — it’s mostly based on what we did last year. Obviously, 2021 isn’t going to work that way. 2020 threw […]

In January 2016, I wrote a blog titled “Four Marketing Resolutions for 2016.” I cited research identifying that “people who write down their specific resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t make specific resolutions.”[1] So I made my marketing resolutions public: Contribute to the growth and success of […]

At 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2019, the ball started dropping and decided to make a year of it. Like everyone else, I wish I could close the lid to this dumpster fire, but there are some things even a trash fire can illuminate. And those are the things that I never want to lose […]

By David Brond, Elizabeth Cohen and Linda McAleer Multiple articles have been written about the important role parents play in their child’s college decision. Most higher education marketers and enrollment professionals agree that a parent’s powerful influence in guiding high school students throughout the college application and admission process is often unmatched by any other […]

Current COVID-19 trends indicate that we are on the other side of the peak in most places in the U.S. States have lifted stay-at-home orders, and we’re all starting to experience what our new normal looks like. This means that while critical care units and emergency departments are still treating COVID-19 patients every day, the […]

Communicating that it is safe to get preventative care such as mammograms is essential to getting healthcare kick-started. With the advent of consumerism and the preponderance of healthcare information, we now have an “army” of informed healthcare consumers in our country. Where have they been during this pandemic? What happened to preventative medicine or annual […]

By David Brond and Kathleen Doyle The world as we knew it has changed. This is also true across the entire landscape of higher education. May 1 was National College Decision Day, the traditional deadline for high school seniors to pick their college or university. In 2020 unfortunately, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, this important […]

All the best brand managers revise their messaging platforms to reflect changes in the market. They do this to remain relevant to their consumers and their markets. Now is the time for healthcare marketers to look at their positioning and message platforms to determine if they need revisions. During this pandemic, two competing images of […]

Amid the current coronavirus situation, some organizations may be tempted to implement a “wait and see” approach to marcom. However, now is not the time to cut branding or market research efforts. For healthcare organizations there is an obvious need to focus short-term priorities on the Coronavirus pandemic and its day-to-day impact on human and […]

It’s in the news every day. This pandemic is crippling some hospitals’ resources, while others are ready and waiting. But all hospitals have stopped elective procedures and are experiencing that impact on their revenue. Some have even been forced to furlough employees and staff. But what can we as marketers do to help? Many of […]

We’ve heard a lot about the importance of thanking essential workers during this pandemic. At AB&C, we’d like to make this a little easier for you. We have designed a series of posters/ads that we will customize for you to use as a print ad or as a poster displayed in your hospitals. We will […]

Healthcare organizations have become pretty marketing savvy over the past several years. They tend to excel in having a strong brand promise, backed up by people-focused missions, visions and values. People entering the industry—especially those in direct clinical care roles—tend to be extremely mission-driven. They want to help and serve others. And that’s what they […]

Healthcare SEM in the midst of a pandemic. One thing that we can depend on is change. It’s a constant. But the massive change we’ve experienced over the past two weeks has been unsettling. Marketers are beginning to second-guess all their marketing strategies. Many are fielding nervous questions from executive teams and wondering if they […]

By Lenny Prosser, Account Services Intern As a recent college graduate, I often reflect on the lessons I’ve learned over the past 3 1/2 years. Aside from the many lectures I’ve sat through, late hours studying in the library and weekends spent with friends, I have one major takeaway: the value of relationships. College is […]

After 18 years, the unemployment scales have finally tipped, and we’re seeing more available jobs than unemployed individuals. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Eric Morath, “U.S. job openings rose to 6.7 million at the end of April [2018], compared with the 6.3 million Americans who were unemployed.” It’s the first time this has happened since […]

While many healthcare providers have been late adopters of digital marketing (as compared to other industries), it is fair to say that, as of 2018 it is now a cornerstone of most healthcare marketing programs. And that prominence comes from success and lessons learned—some good, some not so good—about both general and digital marketing. Just […]

Marketing dashboards are an essential deliverable for any marketing team. Senior leaders want to know what they are getting for their investment in marketing, and how marketing will advance their strategic plan. And for marketers, it is important to document how effective you were in achieving your stated goals. So, where to begin? In this […]

Inevitably at some point during your healthcare marketing career you will be faced with bringing a new brand to market. As you do, it is critical to stay focused on the strategic and business objectives of your organization, while also protecting the equity of your brand. The following scenarios describe bringing a new brand to […]

Over the past four-plus decades, AB&C has worked with some of the most premier healthcare systems across this country—large and small—and we greatly value those relationships. But great agency-client relationships just don’t happen; they take true commitment by both parties to be successful. And over the years, we have learned what makes a great working […]

Every once in a while, a campaign comes along, and you know that it’s special. Maybe it’s a cause that you strongly believe in, a story that needs to be told or the creative is just really unique. I guess that’s how I felt from the very beginning about MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute’s “Living Donor” […]

In my experience as a hospital chief marketing officer (CMO) and in working at AB&C with healthcare CMOs, I’ve found a number of attributes that serve a person well in this role. On Innovation Enterprise, which provides leading-edge ideas and information on a variety of key business channels, Rose Johnstone identifies a number of these […]

Healthcare organizations have always struggled with measuring return on marketing investment (ROMI), mostly because of multiple systems of data collection that don’t speak to one another. But with the advent of new “tools,” that challenge is getting easier — if you have the building blocks in place. Here are some examples of how leading organizations […]

We know a few things to be true about popular brands. They exist. They tend to offer a product or service. They have a physical space or online presence. They have identifiable brand attributes. And they are vetted over time through consumer experiences and perception. Based on these truths, it seems safe to assume that […]

Most health systems/hospitals have an affiliated and/or employed medical group. The exception is California, where the corporate practice of medicine prohibits employment of physicians by systems or hospitals. Some medical groups are faculty models, while others are the result of groups that have merged under one umbrella, and can have primary care and specialty services […]

If you followed a systematic approach to build a new brand (or refreshed an existing one), you started with discovery research. You then developed a brand mantra to inform how your brand would be articulated to internal audiences and the outside world. Finally, you created or refined the outward expressions, such as the name, mark […]

In professional communications of any kind, proper punctuation is essential. But this is especially true for marketing communications, where the copy helps define a brand. Grammar and punctuation mistakes can result in a loss of credibility—for both the agency and its clients. Here are a few tips for avoiding common mistakes. The Comma The goal […]

As branding experts, we have developed our own vocabulary for what we do and how we help organizations define and present themselves to consumers. We use terminology like “brand architecture,” “platform,” “positioning,” “promise,” “proof point,” “personality,” “identity” and “tag line” to describe how we create, communicate and control the attributes of a brand. An important […]

Every healthcare marketing and communications (MarCom) leader has heard this question from a service line or physician leader. Somehow, a newsletter is going to put their program on the map, drive volume, attract new referring physicians and make them profitable. But isn’t this the same fantasy thinking that supports billboards as business drivers? At AB&C, we […]

By Maria Antonelli, Andrea Ferrino, Elizabeth Gluck, Jennifer Harris, Lauren Bentley, Amanda Kalbrosky and Elizabeth Howarth Earlier this month, the Philly Ad Club hosted its annual Women in Advertising event, where a panel of women in advertising and communications imparted their knowledge to a room of marketers (men and women). The panelists—each with a different […]

A new year is upon us, and I, for one, am more excited than ever because 2018 seems to finally be the year that social media has a seat at the big kids’ table. Social is here to stay, so brands need to make sure they’re doing everything they can to kill it with their […]

You’ve heard about it. You’ve seen the results. Maybe you’ve even been part of a rebranding effort. But do you really understand what branding means? Some people think a brand is a company’s logo and colors. Others say that it’s a vision statement and mission, or an advertising campaign. It’s actually all of these things—and […]

Behavior change marketing, also known as social marketing, is a term used by public health professionals to describe a marketing effort that aims to increase awareness of a social issue and change a behavior that is unhealthy. For example: Use sunscreen. Recycle. Be physically active. Wear a seat belt. Don’t smoke. But how exactly can […]

Nobody has to tell you that the B2B sales cycle differs greatly from that of a B2C. For one, a B2B sale typically involves a much larger expense. It’s also a highly vetted decision, and not often an impulsive one. Specifiers, designers, engineers and choosy purchasing agents rarely rush to buy your product or service […]

If you are a company that values collaboration, innovation and teamwork, then you might want to consider replacing the staff coffee break with something a little more mentally stimulating for your employees. The creators of Vine released a new game that is the perfect midday brain-break. HQ is a trending trivia app that users can […]

The holidays always elicit a flashback to the one thing that wasn’t so “joyous” for me as a kid: the thank-you notes. Many of us had parents who made us write to everyone who gave us presents—and not just during the holidays either. For us kids, it was a chore. In retrospect, I now see […]

As a managing director at AB&C, I often attend events on behalf of my firm, where I walk into a room and strike up a conversation with complete strangers, or give the opening remarks to a crowd of unfamiliar faces. Today, I get excited about these opportunities to promote our agency. But once upon a […]

It’s one thing to claim a diverse workforce or patient population. It’s another thing to nurture a genuine culture of inclusion — one in which everyone feels welcomed and valued, one in which everyone can contribute to his or her fullest potential to achieve organizational objectives. This is where the rubber meets the road. Organizations […]

Before reading further, please to do me a favor: Dismiss any notion you have that influencer marketing is just the latest buzz term for “celebrity endorsement.” Celebrity endorsements attach your brand to a big name (a Michael Jordan of the 1990s, if you will) in order to hit anyone and everyone. Influencer marketing is much […]

When it comes to new technology, marketers are often like a newborn playing with a set of keys. It’s new. It’s shiny. And we just need to have it and play with it. But, just because it is new and cool doesn’t mean that it’s the right fit, and often marketers adopt a new technology […]

By Megan Egan and Samantha Mueller There’s something uniquely empowering about sharing a room with 12,000 women (and a few brave men) at the largest annual gathering of women in the country. It was a day where the world’s most influential women—among them former First Lady Michelle Obama and writer, executive producer and creator of […]

That’s it. The world is ending. These millennials are going to ruin what is great about our businesses. You know, they’re lazy. They don’t communicate well. They’re completely self-absorbed. They’re… they’re… going to do amazing things if we allow them to! I’ve been helping national leaders recruit talent for more than 15 years, and I’ve […]

Gone are the days when the “newness” of a news item was ample motivation to get people interested and mobilized to support a cause, buy a product or develop brand loyalty. Think about it: When was the last time you saw a press conference—including those at the White House—that didn’t include at least one member […]

What is Google for Jobs? When posting open job opportunities on the web, you may find that the same job posting appears in the search results from multiple job sites, through an applicant tracking system (ATS) or on a corporate careers page. To remove these redundant and often confusing search results for job seekers, Google […]

Recently, I was reacquainted with The Art of Client Service, a must-read for any aspiring account executive eager to set his or her agency (and the ad world) on fire. Flipping through the pages, I wondered why there was never a companion piece, The Art of Being a Great Client. Looking back on the countless […]

So, your business needs a marketing communications agency. Where do you start? Common sense tells you to ask for recommendations, look up agencies that you’ve heard have a good reputation and do lots of internet research. Even if my intention for this blog was to offer you advice on starting an agency search, I couldn’t—not […]

Ever since there’s been the practice of marketing communications, there’s been a concept inseparable from it: the customer journey. If you understood your target audience and could communicate effectively at each stage of their purchasing journey, you’d do OK in the marcom profession. Historically, that journey was the equivalent of a Sunday drive. The customer […]

A client once told me, “I don’t need to be bothered with digital media reports.” For digital media professionals, this statement stops the music, and we refrain from asking the obvious question out loud: “If you don’t care about the results, why did you even bother to invest money in this campaign?” Of course this […]

After more than a decade of managing a marketing communications agency as a partner and chief creative director, making the step up to CEO shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right? I believed this as I prepared to step into the shoes of our retiring CEO, John Hawkins, the agency’s founder and my friend […]

More and more, job boards are publishing salary information. Should you include accurate salary information in your job postings? As “candidate-friendly” websites like Glassdoor, Indeed, kununu, CareerBliss and Google publish salary estimates, companies are feeling the pressure to release competitive salary information. When a nurse searches for jobs, and finds results with five levels of […]