Situation
Union Hospital’s Family Medicine Residency program is an innovative, hands-on, comprehensive program that incorporates the Richard G. Lugar Center for Rural Health's rural training track curriculum, one of only a few such programs in the country to be accredited. Approximately 80% of the rural training track graduates have subsequently chosen to practice in rural and other underserved areas. A new group of six residents is selected for the program each year. In filling those openings, the recruitment effort targets third-year medical students who are interested in becoming family medicine physicians to serve in medically underserved areas.

Problem
Typically, the hospital received many more applications from students outside of the U.S. – students who usually don't choose to stay in rural areas. The program wanted to attract local students with ties to the area who might be more likely to stay and practice medicine. Previous marketing efforts had included mailing expensive brochures. The problem was that the audience was inundated with brochures from every family medicine program across the nation. Union Hospital wanted to separate itself from the normal brochure mailer, feeling its web site served well as the brochure and for the application process. The competitive nature of recruitment required something unique and upbeat, something that would attract the twentysomething age group, to drive prospective residents to the web site.

Solution
MillerWhite designed a series of three direct mail packages targeting Union Hospital’s audience. The boxes contained inexpensive but subject-appropriate giveaways, and the simple message on the outside of the box led prospective residents to open it, revealing an item and a single call-to-action – to go to www.uhhg-residency.com.

Box #1 Outside: “Choosing the right family medicine residency got you all stressed out?” Just use your noggin!” Inside: A brain-shaped stress ball with the www.uhhg-residency.com imprint. Box #2 Outside: “What kind of people are going to www.uhhg-residency.com? Smarties! Inside: A pack of Smarties® candies and the web address. Box #3: Outside: “Looking for the best family medicine residency? See how we measure up.” Inside: A heart-shaped measuring tape with the www.uhhg-residency.com imprint.

Results
The mailings increased visits to the program’s web site by 70% and yielded more applicants from the U.S. schools the hospital had targeted. All six available spots were filled through those applications.

“A 70% increase in web site visits over a two-month period was more than we ever could have expected,” said Kristi Roshel, the hospital’s marketing/public relations manager. “The innovative design of the series of boxes with the ‘treats’ inside definitely got the attention of the students. It was simple, bright-colored, trendy, and really worked!”

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