November 2008

Chiropractic America re-launched

by Dr. Terry A. Rondberg

The goal of Chiropractic America has always been to share the chiropractic story with people everywhere and educate them about the importance of spinal health and the unique benefits of chiropractic care. Several years ago, it came up with a winning plan for a massive public relations campaign that could have helped reach that goal.

Unfortunately, the company hit a few snags along the way and the program pulled back in order to regroup.

Now, Chiropractic America has announced an exciting development that deserves giving it a second look.

According to Herb Newborg, Chiropractic America president, the program has evolved, restructured and put together the most comprehensive program of patient awareness and education in the history of the profession to finally take chiropractic's message to the public in a credible, professional fashion.

Over the past three years, the company has developed a new website and advertising and public relations campaign. It's established exciting marketing sponsorship arrangements set to launch in January 2009. Despite the changes, its goal remains the same -- to teach people about chiropractic care to drive them into your office.

The new website is a total consumer information and education resource for chiropractic, supported by a strategic search engine marketing campaign that will place it at the top of the search results for all major search engines when health care consumers search for information.

It has been specifically designed to bring our research and message to the 9-10 million Americans who search the Internet every day for quality information about health.

Thanks to research by the non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project, Chiropractic America was able to learn exactly how people conduct those Internet search: They go to a major search engine such as Google or Yahoo and type in a symptom, diagnosis or condition they're concerned about.

This is precisely the moment when accurate, positive information about chiropractic care can have the greatest impact. Yet, chiropractic is usually absent from the discussion simply because search engines fail to put any chiropractic "hits" near the top of the results list.

Newborg says we can radically increase awareness and utilization, as well as create demand for chiropractic care simply by having an effective Internet marketing strategy, and I think he's absolutely right.

Just about everyone today uses the Internet and nearly all chiropractic doctors now have, at the very least, a website to help educate people and market their offices. You can imagine the impact on your practice if your name always came up first when someone was looking for a local chiropractor.

Obviously, an effective search engine optimization and marketing campaign -- which can cost upwards of $2 million a year -- isn't economically feasible for any single practice or even a regional consortium, yet it's absolutely necessary in order to effectively reach today's Internet-savvy health care consumer.

Chiropractic America can do it.

It's partnered with TMP Directional Marketing, a world leader in the field of Internet information dissemination, promotion and management. TMP has helped clients like Astra Zeneca, Corning, ADT and H&R Block to reach their audiences, and Newborg is betting that it can help chiropractic reach its target market as well.

In addition, the Chiropractic America program addresses chiropractic's total absence of professional representation in the mainstream media. It's negotiated a multi-year, multi-million dollar public relations contract with the nation's leading health care public relations firm, Feinstein-Kean Healthcare (an Ogilvy PR Worldwide company).

This firm's client list, which features the leaders of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and molecular medicine industries,  includes names like Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, US Genomics and the National Cancer Institute.

The PR company has been given the task of getting positive coverage for Chiropractic America member doctors in the mainstream media, positioning them as the natural health care providers of choice with a plan for a lifetime of good health and activity. It will broadly promote chiropractors as doctors who do not prescribe drugs yet who are educated and licensed professionals dedicated to their patients' ongoing good health.

Unlike most other PR campaigns, this is a professionally prepared and orchestrated national campaign to promote chiropractic that is not focused on back pain. Instead, it will help link chiropractic with wellness and preventive health care in the minds of the public.

"Chiropractic America is in an excellent position to fill a huge void in chiropractic, and we're excited to be a part of that effort," said Craig Martin, chief operating officer of Feinstein-Kean Healthcare, who oversaw development of the campaign. "Most Americans don't fully appreciate the importance of spinal health nor recognize how chiropractors can help them in maintaining wellness. And most chiropractors don't have the time to be advocates beyond their practices. As a result, chiropractic has only reached a very small portion of the patient population that could benefit from it. We plan to help change that by educating the public on the importance of spinal health, its connection to the central nervous system and the proper functioning of the human body, and our credible and documented role in maintaining health via these pathways."

The campaign will benefit the entire chiropractic profession by increasing awareness of the benefits of spinal care. But Chiropractic America members will reap the greatest reward since the campaign will provide an easy way for consumers to quickly locate a practitioner in their zip code.

When Internet users decide to visit a local chiropractor for an examination or more information, they'll simply enter their zip code and be directed to a member doctor's special Chiropractic America webpage. There, they'll find the office address, phone number, hours of operation, map, college attended, areas of specialization and certifications and a link to the practice's regular website.

Because of this interactive web function, Chiropractic America limits membership to just one chiropractor per zip code. A DC need not "compete" with other doctors in his or her zip code area.

This three-tiered campaign -- world-class public relations, cutting-edge Internet promotion technology, and creative advertising -- is exactly what's needed to take advantage of the unprecedented (and ever-growing) interest in non-allopathic health care solutions.

I urge all DCs to check out the Chiropractic America program by contacting Newborg at 215-310-1735 or info@chirousa.com, or visiting the Chiropractic America site at yourspine.com.