Narayana Health’s Dr Ashish Bajaj decodes healthcare branding in India

In a groundbreaking year for the Indian healthcare sector, the year 2023 witnessed a transformative wave of rebranding initiatives by key players such as Johnson & Johnson, Paras Hospitals, Narayana Health, and Ramesh Hospitals. Notably, the world’s largest health insurance scheme, ‘Ayushman Bharat’, also underwent a rebranding exercise. The Indian Government’s strategic decision led to the rechristening of Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres as ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandir’, adorned with the empowering tagline ‘Arogyam Parmam Dhanam’.

Among these visionary transformations, Narayana Health emerged as a beacon of success with its rebranding campaign, standing out as one of the largest and most impactful health system overhauls in India. With the launch of the resonant slogan, ‘Healthcare with a Heart’, and a meticulously crafted new brand logo, Narayana Health not only revamped its visual identity, but also spearheaded a comprehensive brand rejuvenation across its extensive healthcare establishments.

In conversation with Adgully, Dr Ashish Bajaj, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Narayana Health, speaks about the brand transformation exercise, focusing on Data Analytics, Measuring ROI, future proofing the brand and business, and more.

Narayana Health has recently completed its brand transformation exercise. Do established brands really need to do the same & how difficult was it for you to undertake this exercise?

Our journey towards unifying our brand identity and enhancing our connection with consumers began with the realization that our brand was recognized by a multitude of names. There were eight or even nine different names associated with us, which was not conducive to a healthy brand image. This lack of a unified perception posed a challenge as we engaged with our audience to comprehend how they perceive our brand.

Motivated by this insight, we convened and brainstormed, seeking a solution to this challenge. Our focus remained firmly on the consumer - understanding their needs, aspirations, and perceptions of our brand. We embarked on a journey of engaging conversations, seeking feedback at every stage.

This collaborative effort has propelled us forward in refining our brand identity and initiating a logo overhaul, wherein we use ‘Narayana’ as a universal nomenclature across all our Healthcare verticals. We are now better positioned to deliver a consistent and compelling brand message, reinforcing our commitment to meeting consumer expectations.

All industries are now focusing big on Data Analytics. Are you also focusing on the same at NH and how does it help drive your marketing decisions? 

Certainly, indeed. Data analytics holds a pivotal role in healthcare marketing, empowering organizations like ours to make well-informed decisions driven by data. At Narayana Health, we have a subsidiary named Medha Analytics, which serves as the sophisticated Analytics & AI division. Through Medha Analytics' in-house Business Intelligence (BI) dashboards, we access remarkably precise and actionable real-time insights. These insights constitute a significant part of our decision-making process across various departments.

Specific to Marketing, we use data analytics to segment patients based on geography, demographics, medical history, and treatment preferences. This segmentation allows for targeted marketing campaigns to reach specific patient groups more effectively. Utilizing predictive analytics, we are able to forecast demand for specific healthcare services based on historical utilization patterns. For example, in a certain season if demand for preventive health check-ups picks up in a specific set of audience, the analytics will help us forecast the same in advance. We can accordingly tailor make preventive health-check campaigns and target it in specific geographies or TGs.

There is constant pressure of showing ROI on the marketing spends. Your views on the same?

I firmly believe that the pressure to demonstrate ROI is a positive force that encourages us to enhance our strategies, optimize resource allocation, and align our efforts with the overall business objectives.

Measuring ROI ensures that every marketing rupee is spent wisely. It compels us to assess the effectiveness of the marketing channels used, allowing us to reallocate budgets to the most productive avenues. This leads to improved efficiency in our campaigns and better overall outcomes. The pressure for ROI also instills a sense of accountability within the team, so I am completely for it.

Could you tell us about some of the campaign NH has undertaken recently and what was the thought behind the same?

Narayana Health recently underwent a brand transformation exercise in which there was a complete logo overhaul along with defining our renewed mission, vision and core values. We integrated 'Health & Care' into our visual identity and adopted standardized naming across all our healthcare verticals. A massive pan India Campaign was done for the same which also garnered us immense PR coverage and positive word of Mouth.

Our intent is to create a ‘Customer First Brand’ and we finalized ‘Take Care; as the central theme under which we will do all our future campaigns. ‘Take Care’ is a simple yet strong promise which emphasizes our dedication to supporting consumers throughout their healthcare journey. From the moment they engage with our brand to the point of their healthcare experience, we want them to know that we are here for them, providing more than just care and support every step of the way.   We have recently launched a 360 degree pan India Campaign under the ‘Take Care’ banner which includes print, OOH, Digital, TV, In-cinema advertising and all other kinds of new age media. We have also scripted history by conducting the highest no. of electrocardiograms - 3797 ECGs in a single day at a single place. This is again under the ‘Take Care’ banner and seeks to promote the importance of health screenings and regular check-ups.

What do marketers need to do today to future proof their brands and business?

Technology can be a real disruptor in any category and it is important for marketers to stay updated with the latest technology including AI and understand how they can be integrated in the marketing strategy. Second is to invest in a robust online presence & e-commerce capabilities to meet changing consumer behaviour. Embracing digital transformation and leveraging data analytics for insights and decision making is imperative for any new age marketer. Building an emotional connection with your TG is equally important so use compelling storytelling to convey your brand’s values, engage with them on social media and collaborate with influencers to increase brand visibility and credibility. At the core of every successful strategy lies an unwavering focus on customers. Actively listening to their feedback, both positive and negative, provides invaluable insights. Use this feedback to enhance products, services, and overall customer experience, demonstrating transparency and responsiveness in your interactions.

How will the future of advertising look like overall and from a healthcare advertising perspective. Have you’ll started making changes to your advertising strategy basis that already?

Predicting the precise future of advertising is challenging due to the dynamic and evolving nature of technology, consumer behavior, and regulatory environments. However, we can anticipate some trends and potential developments in the advertising landscape such as below:

• The shift towards digital platforms will continue, with a heavy emphasis on online advertising, social media, mobile, and targeted advertising through data analytics.
• Video content will remain a powerful advertising tool with Short-form videos, live streaming, and interactive video content gaining traction.
• AR and VR technologies may be integrated into advertising to provide immersive and interactive experiences.
• Voice-activated searches and devices like smart speakers will lead to voice-focused advertising strategies.
• Privacy concerns will shape advertising practices, necessitating stricter adherence to data protection laws.
• Healthcare advertising too will be heavily influenced by digital technologies, data-driven strategies, personalization, privacy concerns, and adherence to ethical and regulatory standards.

Yes, we are closely looking at these developments & optimizing our strategy accordingly.

Could you tell us about one priceless lesson you learnt from 2023? 

One priceless lesson I learnt from 2023, or should I say something I knew from before but heavily prioritized in 2023, is to place the customer first. This customer-centric approach ensures that any brand’s offerings resonate with the target audience, increasing the likelihood of successful engagement and conversions.

Also considering the customer's perspective enables a deeper understanding of their pain points and challenges. Armed with this knowledge, one can develop marketing strategies or introduce offerings that directly address these issues. At Narayana Health, we are doing just the same and actively listening to our customers, taking feedback at regular intervals.