The "sea of sameness" concept, which refers to when healthcare marketing and advertising looks similar across entities, has been causing friction among hospitals and health systems working to stand out to their patient communities.
"In the healthcare space, a lot of the advertising looks identical," Paul Matsen, chief marketing and communications officer at the Cleveland Clinic, told the Marketing Brew. "It's often been referred to as a sea of sameness."
Mr. Matsen said this is the hardest part about being a healthcare marketer as it has been difficult to go against established conventions in the industry.
A case between New York City-based NYU Langone Health and New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health reflects this.
On June 15, NYU Langone filed a lawsuit against Northwell alleging that Northwell had identical advertisements as well as used similar accent colors and fonts that have been traditionally used by NYU Langone.
"This is a clear violation of NYU Langone's branding and marketing, which even a casual observer would see as an attempt to copy our campaign," Steve Ritea, senior director of media relations for NYU Langone, told Becker's. "Northwell is intentionally trying to confuse the public and trade on NYU Langone's quality and safety reputation. It's a shameless effort reflecting poorly on their imagination and industry."
The lawsuit also alleges that Northwell has a pattern and practice of "copying NYU Langone's distinctive advertising and marketing campaigns, across various media, including, but not limited to, outdoor, digital, print, billboards, social, as well as email and fundraising communications." NYU Langone said this creates confusion about Northwell's association and affiliation with its organization.
Ramon Soto, senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer for Northwell, told Becker's that NYU Langone Health's claims are "preposterous."
"NYU Langone's claim that it owns the color purple for healthcare services is nothing short of preposterous. And it's an insult that part of the complaint includes a hospital's weeklong COVID-19 memorial for healthcare workers," Mr. Soto said. "Northwell Health is proud of its distinct branding, which uses a wide variety of colors, and how it leverages research, education and clinical excellence to differentiate from others in the market. Northwell is much more than just a color in our ads."