Zocdoc, an online service for finding in-network care providers and booking medical appointments, poked fun at common inconveniences patients face on their care journeys in its first national television ad campaign.
The "Healthcare, But Easy" campaign aims to show people how Zocdoc's platform can streamline booking processes to make the patient care journey easier. For its television spot, the ad satirizes common inconveniences, namely having to wait weeks until being able to visit a physician and receiving a shockingly expensive bill from an out-of-network provider.
"A lot of healthcare advertising is wonderful, but very serious," Richard Fine, Zocdoc's vice president of strategy, told Medical, Marketing and Media. "If you look at many health systems, the advertising is very good, but it usually deals with serious conditions."
The campaign seeks to reach a wide audience, as it is designed to help Zocdoc's efforts to become a universal brand.
"If you talk to people about the healthcare experience they will tell you, 'Yes my back hurt, but what was worse was all the other stuff that went with it,'" Mr. Fine told Medical, Marketing and Media. "So much of medicine is geared around the five minutes in the exam room and the medical conditions, but much of the pain and bad experiences have nothing to do with that. It's about all the stuff that happens outside the exam room."