Starting
from Scratch:
Paramount Health Care
Doing something new, such as developing and introducing
new products or helping our clients enter new markets,
has always been one of our specialties. And with the
introduction of Paramount Health Care, we not only had
the opportunity to help launch an entirely new company,
but also to offer a new option in health care in our
market: the first provider-owned HMO.
Paramount turned to LMG to develop a brand strategy
and build awareness for Paramount so that it could be
marketed throughout the region. We initially started
by introducing Paramount to the employer base in the
region. Our first program was a direct marketing effort
whereby we targeted the top 100 employers in the region.
From this direct mail campaign, Paramount was able to
set up sales appointments with 94 out of these top 100
employers. We also developed all the sales materials
for the Paramount sales force to utilize in presenting
the Paramount product.
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| One of the first Paramount marketing
pieces was this direct mail to leading employers,
with a "preview of their health care costs". |
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From there we developed the television, radio, print
and outdoor advertising campaigns to establish the Paramount
brand as the premier health plan in the region, so that
employees began asking their employers to include Paramount
in their choices for a health care plan.
As Paramount became more successful they began expanding
their health plan offering to a changing marketplace.
Paramount developed both a Medicare (Elite) and Medicaid
(Advantage) product to serve these growing segments
of the market. Again, LMG developed the branding for
both these products, introducing both the Elite and
Advantage products to our target audiences. A full complement
of marketing vehicles was used to sell the benefits
of the Paramount product offering. We also developed
educational forums for potential members to attend to
learn first hand what both the Elite and Advantage product
offered, allowing members to actually enroll at that
time.
The Results:
Within a few years of introducing Paramount to the
market, it grew from being a hospital employees plan
to over 120,000 members. Within the first 5 years it
was considered the fastest growing health plan in the
United States. It has remained a leader in the region
and has survived numerous attempts by other health care
systems and providers to unseat its leadership position,
with many of those challengers no longer in existence.
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