he Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines communication as “an act or instance of transmitting.” The ASA Bylaws charge the ASA Committee on Communications (COC) with providing “avenues of communication among members of this Society and the public according to the policies of the Board of Directors, including but not limited to:

a. editing and publishing pamphlets and brochures of the Society and

b. conducting a Journalism Award Program at the discretion of the committee.”

The COC: Utilizing Our Strategic Plan
ASA’s Strategic Plan for direction has explored a number of avenues to facilitate communication about who we are and how anesthesiologists contribute to the care and well-being of patients. Our efforts have focused on our target audiences: our patients, the public, and legislative and regulatory officials. We have gone well beyond pamphlets and brochures and now utilize video and radio news releases, PowerPoint slide presentations and appearances at the annual meetings of other medical specialties. In addition, ASA has been providing the tools necessary to assist our members with formulating and delivering key messages by continually surveying the media for stories relating to or of concern to anesthesiology or anesthesiologists and providing information in the form of speaking points to our members. Our spokesperson training programs have provided the tools for successful communication to more than 1,000 ASA members. But the times they are a changin’!

Less than eight years ago, ASA updated and converted its public/patient education slide presentations into a PowerPoint format. If you ask, “What is PowerPoint,” it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are behind the times. You may be more comfortable with modes of communication such as Podcasts and YouTube. Does anyone really want to go back to the days of ordering 35 mm slides? Thus, COC discussions have been focusing on new information and new methods to communicate. The timing could not be better. Our entire organization is in transition. In the past year, we have undergone changes in our organizational structure and function, personnel and location of our Washington office. We have set forth an updated strategic plan that will create a template to direct our activities in the areas of education and training, research, increasing member value and advocacy. Yes, these times are a changin’! Change, while difficult, is good, especially as the size of our membership and the issues facing our specialty have been ever-increasing.

Almost two years ago, the ASA Committee on Communications, with support and guidance from then-Director of Communications Gina A. Steiner, presented a proposal to the Board of Directors and the House of Delegates to began a branding campaign aimed at formulating both an image and market strategy that would have a long-lasting impact on the way we are perceived by our patients, the public and our policymakers. Who is ASA? What is an anesthesiologist? We’ve been selling it piecemeal through brochures, Doctors Day releases, video news releases, etc. How effective have we been? Is this the image that we wish to convey? More importantly, is this a positive image that will stick with our different target audiences? I can’t answer these questions. Certainly, we’re not as effective as we’d like.

What we’ve been doing is marketing, public relations and advertising. Had Nike, Apple, Coca Cola or the Ritz-Carlton stopped there, would they have been as successful as they are today? Probably not. They have a “brand,” not just a name or a corporate logo. That brand identifies them, is consistent, is lived throughout the organization and at every customer (or potential customer) contact point, and it differentiates them from others. As a novice in the area of market strategy, I find it easy to understand the differences between marketing, public relations, advertising and branding and their contribution to marketing strategy in the following manner:

Marketing: I’m telling patients or legislators that anesthesiologists are physicians who play a vital role in the safety and well-being of patients in the perioperative setting and management of pain.

Public Relations: ASA is telling patients or legislators that anesthesiologists are physicians who play a vital role in the safety and well-being of patients in the perioperative setting and management of pain.

Advertising: ASA and I are repetitively telling patients or legislators that anesthesiologists are physicians who play a vital role in the safety and well-being of patients in the perioperative setting and management of pain.

Branding: Our patients and legislators know and are telling others that anesthesiologists are physicians who play a vital role in the safety and well-being of patients in the perioperative setting and management of pain.

An effective “brand” will deliver the message clearly, confirm our credibility, connect our target prospects emotionally, motivate our target market and create user loyalty. This is no small task. It is important that ASA spend the time and dollars necessary to research, define and build its brand. We must implement these strategies for every internal and external communication, and we must communicate a consistent message that will resonate with our audiences and will not change from year to year on Doctors Day. While the development of a brand and a brand strategy typically involves a limited number of members of an organization, the successful implementation is the responsibility of every anesthesiologist and ASA member. ASA can develop and roll out the message and image. It’s up to all of us to deliver on it.

Recognizing that we cannot accomplish the task of a branding campaign effectively with in-house resources, ASA will be utilizing the expertise of a consulting firm that specializes in the branding process and market strategy. Working with Dawn M. Glossa, ASA Director of Communications, we have currently narrowed a nationwide search down to four firms. In early 2008, we will discuss these options and plans with the Administrative Council members and move forward with the consulting group that best meets our needs. It is anticipated that we will be conducting a number of focus groups, both physician and public, as we move forward in defining who we are, what the needs of our target market are and the image we wish to convey. The COC will update the Board of Directors, House of Delegates and the membership on our progress with this effort.

Michael H. Entrup, M.D., is Anesthesiologist-in-Chief, Tufts-New England Medical Center, and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.