Marketing Network Group has rolled out a new national campaign for Kingsbridge Private Healthcare Group aimed at private health insurance customers in the Republic of Ireland.
The campaign, “Some Things Are Worth Talking About,” is Kingsbridge’s first national campaign in the Republic of Ireland specifically targeting people with private medical insurance and was developed by Marketing Network Group agencies Rage Creative and Tilt Digital.
Running across TV, VOD, radio, outdoor, press, social and digital, the campaign aims to highlight that many Irish private health insurance customers can use their existing cover to access consultations at Kingsbridge hospitals in Belfast, Newry and Derry, in some cases within around two weeks.
Media for the campaign is being handled by Media 365.
Research underpinning the work found that the key barrier was not a lack of awareness of private healthcare itself, but a lack of understanding among consumers about how their existing insurance could be used to access Kingsbridge.
According to the agency, information about this option has traditionally tended to spread through word of mouth rather than advertising.
This insight provides the basis for the creative, which centres on two neighbours, Frank and Dermot, talking over their garden fence.
Frank has recently undergone a knee procedure at Kingsbridge and is keen to tell everyone about his experience. While his repeated retelling initially tests the patience of those around him, Dermot eventually realises that this is one piece of information worth hearing.
According to Kieran Killeen, managing director, Marketing Network Group the objective was to reach insured consumers who may not realise their policy can be used at Kingsbridge.
“Although Kingsbridge Private Hospital Group has established growing awareness levels in the Republic of Ireland, we are looking to attract the audience that have private medical insurance, but don’t know they can use it when visiting Kingsbridge in Belfast, Newry or Derry,” he said.
“We’re also used to hearing about exhaustive waiting lists within the Irish market, so informing the audience that they can have speedy access to a consultant and a procedure was also of significance.”
Killeen said the character of Frank was designed to bring a relatively functional healthcare message to life.
“Embedding nosey neighbour Frank, who knows everything and can’t stop talking about it, brings a traditionally boring message to life and his desire to tell everyone about his operation and how quickly he was seen elevates the storytelling to a different level.
“The line is deliberately built to last. ‘Some Things Are Worth Talking About’ is a platform we can keep coming back to, and Frank is a character we fully intend to see again.”
The TV ad was directed by Jo Guthrie through Heritage and filmed on location in Dublin and Belfast. The Frank and Dermot characters also feature across the radio, outdoor, social and press elements of the campaign.
Mark Regan, CEO, Kingsbridge said a significant part of the challenge was explaining to insured consumers what their policies could already allow them to access.
“Kingsbridge has been treating patients from the Republic for some time. This is the first occasion we have spoken to the PMI market at this scale, and it mattered to us that we got the tone right before we pushed out our message,” he said.
