Sudbury Regional Hospital (HRSRH) has selected two private-sector firms that will help it to “rebrand.”
Rebranding is the process by which a service associated with one brand is marketed with a different identity.
After a competitive bidding process, OVE Design and 50 Carleton have been selected to assist the hospital with the initiative.
OVE Design, based in Toronto, is described on its website as “one of Canada's leading branding and strategic design firms.” Sudbury-based 50 Carleton is a marketing and advertising agency.
A media statement put out by the hospital July 29 said that “while it is not the hospital's practice to disclose bid pricing, the HRSRH can confirm that the exercise will cost less than $100,000.”
The two firms have “extensive branding experience and have worked with many large health care organizations, including Cancer Care Ontario, London Health Sciences Centre, Royal Ottawa Hospital and Canada's largest health care institution, University Health Network,” the media statement said.
“They were also selected to assist with the City of Greater Sudbury and Laurentian University's branding initiatives.”
The exercise will get underway in August, and will take six months to complete.
A brand advisory group has been established by the hospital to help guide the process. The group membership represents key stakeholders from various sectors, including health, education, business, municipal and regional representatives, the media statement said.
Sean Barrette, a hospital spokesperson at the time, told Northern Life in May that the rebranding exercise may include changes to the hospital's logo and name.
He said the hospital hopes the initiative will ultimately help with the recruitment of medical professionals.
“It's important for the (hospital) to have a positive image at the local, provincial, national and international level,” Barrette said.
“There's a lot of reasons for this. One of the reasons would be the recruitment of physicians and specialists. Nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professionals also need to be recruited. We're also looking for researchers...
“We'll also be looking for grants and other funding opportunities. A rebranding of an institution can help you with all of that.”
Barrette said rebranding is common when an institution has undergone significant changes, as Sudbury Regional Hospital has in recent years.
“We've involved into a full hub for northeastern Ontario, a full academic health sciences centre, and we've just moved onto one site,” he said.
“This institution is undergoing a complete sea change. This is really the right time to undergo this kind of initiative.”
