Marketing Leadership and Strategic Vision
Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine’s marketing department is emphasizing its strong brand while “not resting on our laurels,” according to its new chief communication and marketing officer. Christine Woolsey, who assumed leadership of Michigan Medicine’s marketing operations in September, brings a strategic perspective to balancing brand strength with active market engagement.
The 11-hospital system and academic medical center has established itself as a healthcare powerhouse with long waitlists for high-acuity specialties, including oncology, neurology, and organ transplants. Despite this enviable position, Woolsey recognizes that sustained marketing efforts remain essential for long-term success.
Retail Services Present Unique Challenges
While specialty services maintain strong demand, Woolsey expresses concern about retail healthcare offerings such as primary care. “I worry a little bit more about the retail services — primary care and other things — whether or not every consumer is willing to wait just because of the brand, or, if they do have other options, they’ll go for convenience or easier access,” she explained.
This distinction between specialty and retail services requires differentiated marketing strategies that address varying consumer behaviors and expectations across different service lines.
Brand Recognition and Market Positioning
Michigan Medicine benefits from powerful brand assets that many healthcare organizations would envy. The health system’s brand includes the copyrighted Block M logo, instantly recognizable partly due to University of Michigan’s football prominence. This athletic association creates widespread brand awareness that extends far beyond traditional healthcare marketing efforts.
Alumni Network Provides Marketing Advantage
The institution leverages a powerful alumni and philanthropic network with strong emotional attachment to the school. This built-in constituency provides word-of-mouth marketing and referral opportunities that money cannot buy. The medical center thrives across three critical dimensions: clinical care excellence, groundbreaking research, and continuous innovation.
Competitive Pressure Remains Constant
Despite these advantages, Woolsey acknowledges significant challenges. The health system faces exposure to both healthcare’s financial pressures and higher education’s political landscape, including National Institutes of Health funding uncertainty and H-1B visa restrictions under the Trump administration.
Navigating Healthcare Marketing Budget Constraints
Michigan Medicine’s marketing department operates without an “unlimited budget,” requiring strategic allocation of resources. Woolsey emphasizes the need for careful decision-making about marketing investments.
“Is it trying to build volume, or is it more of a brand play? We have to do both. I believe we have to be in the market with our brand all the time,” she stated. However, financial realities mean the organization cannot maintain comprehensive presence across all marketing channels simultaneously.
Balancing Brand Presence and Volume Building
The marketing strategy must balance maintaining brand visibility against competitor activity while also driving patient volume for specific service lines. Some physicians, particularly newer practitioners, still require promotional support, while other campaigns focus on reputation maintenance and talent attraction.
Targeting Younger Demographics
Promoting convenient options like virtual care to younger consumers represents another priority. The marketing team must also decide between direct-to-consumer advertising versus physician-to-physician referral strategies for different services.
Data-Driven Digital Marketing Approaches
Woolsey strongly favors marketing campaigns with quantifiable outcomes. “A lot of times you’ll hear, ‘We want a billboard,’ and it’s sort of like, well, we can’t really measure the impact of that,” she explained. This measurement-focused philosophy drives preference for digital campaigns over traditional advertising.
Measurable Results Drive Investment Decisions
The marketing department prioritizes digital and other campaign types that deliver measurable results and demonstrable downstream outcomes when proper data sources exist. This analytical approach ensures marketing dollars generate trackable returns on investment rather than vague brand awareness metrics.
Technology Integration and Digital Transformation
Woolsey’s marketing team includes web developers and technology specialists who work as “trusted partners” with IT departments on security, compliance, and vendor vetting. This collaborative approach ensures marketing technology decisions align with enterprise requirements.
Website Consolidation Streamlines Patient Experience
Over recent years, Michigan Medicine’s marketing team has consolidated approximately 300 clinical websites into just four enterprise sites. This massive digital transformation streamlined the digital “front door” for patients, making it easier for consumers to navigate services and access information.
The consolidation effort reduced confusion, improved search engine optimization, and created consistent branding across the organization’s digital presence.
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Communications
Woolsey views generative AI as a productivity assistant for marketing and communications staff rather than a content creator. The stakes in medical communication are too high to risk AI-generated errors or inaccuracies.
Protecting Brand Integrity in AI Era
She worries about potential damage to Michigan Medicine’s brand if the health system began airing videos featuring AI-generated physicians instead of real medical professionals. This cautious approach prioritizes authenticity and accuracy over efficiency gains.
Adapting to AI-Powered Search
Woolsey is contending with the shift from traditional SEO and keywords to AI-generated search results. Health systems nationwide are working to understand how to appear in AI-created summaries, representing a fundamental change in digital marketing strategy.
Expansion and Future Growth Initiatives
Currently, Woolsey focuses on publicizing the health system’s philanthropy-driven growth, including a new 264-bed pavilion opening in November and ambulatory expansion into Oakland County, Michigan.
“We’re making sure we’re not resting on our laurels of having a powerhouse brand like we have, and just thinking, Well, because [patients have] always come, they will continue to come,” she said. “We have to be nimble and make sure we’re keeping up with what consumer preferences are and how to get that loyalty.”
This forward-looking approach acknowledges that even strong brands must continuously adapt to changing consumer expectations and competitive dynamics in healthcare markets.
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