Brand: Bumrungrad Hospital

The world is moving at an ever-faster pace, and trends of today may no longer be the trend of tomorrow. In a world where technological advancements create new channels and platforms for information exchange, every marketer's job is to find innovative ways to help brands and businesses communicate to their respective consumers.

 

 

In this article, Tellscore talks to Mr. Teeraphol Ambhai, Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing of Bumrungrad Hospital, and delves deeper into why and how one of the country's largest private hospitals collaborated with Tellscore to leverage influencer marketing as a communication strategy for its campaigns.

 

Social marketing used to be like one-way communication.

 

Mr. Teeraphol began by describing how he arrived at his decision to use influencer marketing strategies by recounting the role of social media in the past, "It used to be like a one-way communication, a conversation from only one point of view. Therefore, we had to find a way to stand out and make our message unique." Influencer marketing strengthens communication by providing every individual with the voice and the power to contribute to a conversation from their own point of view.

 

Khun Teeraphol revealed that Bumrungrad Hospital used to spend very little attention on social media. Three years ago, this largest hospital in Thailand was not even in the country's top five in terms of its follower base, having spent only 20% of the digital budget per annum.

 

Nowadays, Bumrungrad Hospital has invested significant effort in implementing influencer marketing strategies throughout 2021 by working with influencers of all levels, from nano-influencers and macro-influencers to celebrities, totaling 99 individuals. The hospital's influencer campaigns have been highly successful.

 

Mr. Teeraphol listed and described four of Bumrungrad Hospitals’ most impactful and creative influencer marketing campaigns.

 

1. Buy 1 Get 1 Health Checkup Package campaign.

The Buy 1 Get 1 Health Checkup Package campaign did more than hire influencers to represent the product and its brand. In this campaign, Bumrungrad Hospital adopted a referral marketing model to reward influencers who successfully reached the hospital's younger target audience and helped generate sales to meet the hospital’s target revenue.

 

2. Deposit Delivery Package campaign.

In the Deposit Delivery Package campaign, Bumrungrad Hospital collaborated with pregnant and new mothers to share some of their most memorable and heart-warming experiences of being a mother. The 11 mom influencers helped the hospital sell up to 111 promotional packages. According to Mr. Teeraphol, the Deposit Delivery Package campaign was one of the most impressive campaigns of the year.

 

3. The Pathologist campaign.

The Pathologist campaign invited doctors who found themselves to be cancer victims to share their real-life stories on Twitter with the hashtag #เราเลือกได้ [we can choose]. The campaign generated up to 1.2 million views.

 

4. Bumrungrad Digital Gift Card campaign.

The Bumrungrad Digital Gift Card campaign is this year's year-end campaign.

 

In addition to its influencer marketing campaigns, Bumrungrad Hospital has collaborated with influencers from various fields of interest and expertise to create an extensive portfolio of impactful YouTube content which led to the hospital winning Thailand's first YouTube Works Award 2021.

 

Influencer Marketing is the goal scorer in the digital marketing arena.

 

From the success of the influencer campaigns, Mr. Teeraphol asserted that organizations should understand that influencers are some of the top goal scorers in the digital marketing arena. At the same time, brands and marketers should not expect influencer marketing to score goals by using the same tactics like Search Engine Marketing (SEM) or other social media marketing strategies. After all, with the occasional exception of influencers scoring solo goals, it typically takes a team to score a goal. Therefore, combining multiple marketing tactics and media is the most effective strategy, and it is also part of the fun of winning in any marketing campaign.

 

 

After turning its attention and effort to social media marketing, particularly influencer marketing strategies, Bumrungrad Hospital has launched multiple successful marketing campaigns and became one of the hospitals with the most followers on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube) in Thailand and ranking among the top three hospital groups worldwide. The many awards the hospital has received are testimony to the hospital's success in utilizing influencer marketing strategies to launch inspiring and memorable campaigns. Among Mr. Teeraphol's most prized awards is the 2021's Thailand Influencer Award, as it aptly rewarded the team's intense and relentless effort over a short period of time.

 

When asked about the factors that contributed to the success of the Bumrungrad Hospital campaigns, Mr. Teeraphol said, "I believe that a successful team is one where team members are happy doing what they do.”

 

Apart from the team's collective happiness, Mr. Teeraphol also emphasized the importance of the work process and measurable results, starting with identifying and determining the brand’s target group. After a set period, the team has to evaluate the campaign's success. If a campaign is significantly successful, the next step is to find ways to add value to the campaign. If the campaign does not meet a satisfactory level of success, the team has to formulate a new strategy.

 

Once the campaign is complete, the target audience segmentation must be clearly defined, namely: potential clients who have the opportunity to buy but have yet to arrive at a purchase decision, customers who completed a purchase, and repeat customers. Additionally, Mr. Teeraphol believes that a successful campaign should utilize more than one medium and more than one type of content to reach the target groups. Instead, brands and marketers should customize their content and choose the right media for their target audiences based on an in-depth understanding of each social media platform.

 

In addition, Mr. Teeraphol integrated Bumrungrad Hospital's three core competencies into all of his campaigns. The three core competencies, abbreviated “AIC”, are:

 

1. Agile

The hospital must be ready to adapt at all times. Because the world is constantly and rapidly changing, Bumrungrad Hospital has to be agile, adopt a growth mindset, and have the courage to learn from trial and error. “Fall fast, learn fast, and act as quickly as possible.”

 

2. Innovation

Because everyone utilizes social media in a similar manner, a brand or marketer with an innovative approach to social media marketing holds an edge in the highly competitive market. Therefore, it is crucial for any influencer marketing campaign to be a perfect amalgamation of multiple media, content, marketing strategies, etc.

 

3. Caring

Every campaign launched by Bumrungrad Hospital is related to the topic of health and well-being. This requires the team to pay special attention to each campaign's content. As such, every campaign must have health literacy at its core so that its target audience can benefit and live a better life from the provided information.

 

 

Bumrungrad Hospital's team of marketers was not the sole key player in the success of its campaigns. Mr. Teeraphol also expressed his positive impression and experiences collaborating with Tellscore in a series of the hospital's influencer marketing campaigns.

 

 

Tellscore is an impressive guide in the field of influencer marketing.

 

Mr. Teeraphol compared influencer marketing strategies to "traveling to a beautiful new place where we might get lost without a good guide." The success of Bumrungrad Hospital's influencer marketing campaigns could not happen without a partner like Tellscore to provide advice and guidance throughout each campaign, allowing the hospital to experiment with new channels and succeed by leaps and bounds without the risk of taking major losses.

 

As such, Tellscore has been a great guide that can introduce the brand with a list of ideal influencer candidates, aid in setting campaign goals and timelines, and provide study cases and in-depth information relevant to each specific campaign. Furthermore, Mr. Teeraphol and Bumrungrad Hospital were impressed with Tellscore's readiness to provide guidance and solutions should a campaign perform at a lower level than expected at any stage of said campaign.

 

“Don't be afraid to start or try something new. When you succeed, don't be complacent. When you fail, don't give up. Use every experience to develop yourself to grow because influencer marketing is not just an option but a way to survive and lead your business to sustainable success.”

 

Bumrungrad Hospital's influencer campaigns are among many success stories in influencer marketing, and any brand and business can leverage influencer marketing to create their own successful campaigns.

 

Looking to create brand awareness and increase sales with influencer marketing? Contact Tellscore at contact@tellscore.com.

 

Read more influencer marketing case studies at https://th.tellscore.com/th/CaseStudy.

 

"Influencer marketing is not just an option but a way to survive and lead your business to sustainable success.”