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RiechesBaird to Take Hoag Brand Beyond the Bluffs

Newport Beach’s Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian is starting a branding campaign to tout its growth in Orange County.

The hospital has campuses in Newport Beach and Irvine, where it recently renovated the former Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center and re-opened it as Hoag Hospital Irvine.

The hospital’s own marketing staff is working on the campaign for the Irvine hospital and 16 clinics with print, radio, outdoor and direct mail ads.

“They want to change the perception of a hospital overlooking the bluffs in Newport Beach—which is what they are known for—to a regional healthcare delivery network,” said Ryan Rieches, chief executive at Irvine-based branding agency RiechesBaird, which is handling the branding campaign.

RiechesBaird helped create a new Hoag logo, an extensive photo library featuring real patients and doctors for upcoming marketing campaigns and an overall brand strategy.

The shop is producing weekly e-mail programs and Internet materials as part of the internal branding training for the hospital’s marketing staff. The opening of Hoag Hospital Irvine in September kicked off the marketing push with Hoag’s new logo in much of the print ads and marketing collateral.

“The opening of the Irvine hospital is probably the most visual and significant component of the campaign,” Rieches said. “Beyond the hospital in Irvine, they have a number of health centers and centers of excellence, which have been overlooked.”

Mazda Keeps Hill & Knowlton

Rumors of Irvine-based Mazda North American Operations ending a 30-plus year relationship with the Irvine office of New York-based public relations firm Hill & Knowlton Inc. can be put to rest.

“We have no plans to end our relationship with Hill & Knowlton,” said John Abel, marketing director for the U.S. arm of Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp.

Rumors of a break started circulating this summer after the automaker shifted its $150 million advertising account out of the Newport Beach office of Southfield, Mich.-based Doner Co. to Team Mazda, part of Britain’s WPP PLC.

The new shop is designed to emulate Team Detroit, a WPP agency formed to handle Ford Motor Co.’s advertising and public relations.

Many in the industry wondered if the creation of Team Mazda might spell the end for the relationship with Hill & Knowlton, even though the PR shop also is owned by WPP.

It appears that the long relationship between Mazda and Hill & Knowlton helped Team Mazda land the account.

“It was one of the key building blocks of the WPP proposal,” Abel said. “(Our public relations work) is probably the least impacted bit of the whole transition.”

Hill & Knowlton is expected to work closely with Team Mazda on upcoming campaigns, including the release of the Mazda5 minivan.

“It’s more of an opportunity to align and explore the fertile ground between traditional public relations and traditional marketing,” Abel said.

Boost Mobile Sponsorship

Irvine-based prepaid wireless phone service provider Boost Mobile LLC is beefing up its marketing with several sports sponsorships.

Boost, which has 4.3 million subscribers as part of parent Sprint Nextel Corp., has signed marketing deals with Ultimate Fighting Championship and the National Basketball Association’s New York Knicks.

Boost signed a deal as the official wireless sponsor for UFC, part of Las Vegas-based Zuffa LLC, to push the company’s $50-per-month unlimited prepaid service plan.

The plan allows for unlimited calling, text messaging, wireless Web access and walkie-talkie service.

Boost sponsored a televised card of fights featuring UFC fan favorites Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez at the Honda Center in Anaheim last month.

“This is an ideal partner for Boost, as a spot aligns well with our competitive nature and will give our brand heightened visibility with UFC’s avid and growing fan base,” said Bob Stohrer, vice president of marketing for Boost Mobile.

As part of the UFC sponsorship, Boost has launched “Your Town, Our Fighter” sweepstakes where consumers will have a chance to win prizes, including a VIP party where UFC fighters will visit a winner’s home to watch a bout.

Boost in the past has supported individual UFC fighters, including Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who also has crossed over to the movies.

The deal with the Knicks includes a contract for the 2011 season with MSG Network, a regional cable television and radio operation serving the Mid-Atlantic region and owned by New York’s Madison Square Garden Inc.

“New York has always been a strong market for the Boost Mobile brand, and teaming up with the Knicks will allow us to grow market presence and develop a deeper relationship with their avid fans,” Stohrer said.

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