Division B - Printed Tools of Public Relations
Category 4 - Brochure - Four Color
Dattoli Cancer Center Brochure
Ginya Carnahan, APR, CPRC; Brian Lowe; LeBlanc Studios
Award of Distinction
Research/Situation Analysis:
The Dattoli Cancer Center & Brachytherapy Research Institute
attracts patients from all over the world for non-surgical treatment of
prostate cancer. Intake surveys indicate that potential patients learn
about the Center from 1. former patients (37%), 2. the Internet (35%),
3. advertising (23%, includes brochures) and 4. other sources (5%).
After an initial phone contact, potential patients are sent a package
containing a brochure and videotape/dvd. The original brochure,
published in 2001, had become outdated after the purchase of advanced
technology and revisions to the treatment protocol. By 2006, a revised
brochure was needed.
Objectives: Create and distribute 300 copies of
an educational tool to: 1. offer potential patients understanding and
compassion, and to introduce the four principal members of the Dattoli
team, 2. share the stories of four diverse former patients, 3. reveal
the highly technical commitment of the Center by featuring three
technologies,
4. answer the 30 most common questions voiced by men
newly diagnosed with the disease, 5. compare and contrast four common
treatments options, and 6. help men determine whether this Center and
its specific approach is the appropriate one for him, thereby
attracting 150 new patients in the first six months.
Implementation: A photography/marketing firm was
chosen to design our brochure, with input from the marketing director.
Creating a printed piece that is at once warm and comforting while
conveying complicated technology and addressing life-altering health
issues is a challenge. We decided to wrap the technical material inside
the stories of a few diverse patients. Four former patients were
selected by the marketing director to share their stories – an older
“captain of industry,” an African American professor, a pilot and an
American living abroad. The “technology, tools and team” center-fold is
presented as the core of the brochure, as it is certainly the core of
Center’s success. A lift-out section of “Answers to Frequently Asked
Questions” (including comparisons of treatment options) was designed to
make revisions easy and cost effective. A matte-finish stock was chosen
to make the copy easy to read, while all photographs were
spot-laminated giving them exceptional clarity, underscoring the
high-tech nature of the Center. A circle motif was selected as the main
design element, recalling the circular nature of our logo, and the
rotating head of our radiation equipment.
Evaluation: Brochures have been in use for 5
months. During this time, approximately 400 copies have been requested
and mailed, with another 100 distributed through health fairs and by
former patients. To date, 187 men have chosen this Center for their
treatment, after receiving the brochure. First-day orientation surveys
reveal that all men who elect to be treated here have had an
introduction to the key staff members from seeing their photographs,
demonstrate adequate knowledge of our leading-edge technology, and have
made the decision to be treated here based on understanding the
protocol as described in the brochure. New patients routinely
compliment the brochure, and frequently ask for additional copies to
share with other men “back home.”
Budget: Total cost of 2,500 brochures and 8-page
folio insert, design, photography, die-cut, spot lamination, proofs and
printing was $23,679.50 – $9.47 each. Treatment cost for the average
patient is in excess of $45,000.00.