Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards - 2024

Campaign: Celebrating Reading Hospital’s Newborn Era
Agency/Firm: Brian Communications
Client: Reading Hospital

Reading Hospital is a 697-bed hospital in West Reading, Pennsylvania — and the birthplace of pop star Taylor Swift. The hospital teamed up with Brian Communications to launch a campaign to boost patient engagement and the hospital’s brand, especially from so-called “Swifties.”

With a campaign budget of less than $500, Reading Hospital took advantage of the frenzy surrounding Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour by creating more than 100 friendship bracelets, a common accessory for fans at Swift’s concerts. Staff members then handed out the bracelets to families of newborns on Dec. 13, Swift’s birthday.

The campaign, which rolled out mainly through photos of the bracelets on social media and earned gold in the Tiny But Mighty category for providers and insurers, made a splash across several major news outlets including Fox News, People and the New York Post, and received considerable notice from Swift’s giant fanbase. Within three days, the campaign had reached more than 500 million people, according to the organization, including through 100,000 social media impressions.

The bracelets attracted new attention for the hospital, part of West Reading, Pennsylvania-based Tower Health. For instance, 87% of the Facebook users who saw the campaign had not reportedly previously followed or interacted with any of the hospital’s social media platforms.