Love + Medicine

Mayo Clinic was acquiring and rebranding local clinics in the same Wisconsin area that Gundersen Health System served. As such, Gundersen’s awareness, preference scores, and patient numbers were slipping. It had to find a way to get new patients in the door, despite going up against one of the world’s most recognized healthcare names.

Mayo Clinic is medically excellent. Everyone knows it. But patients forge lifelong hospital connections during moments in life where clinical excellence alone isn’t enough. Gundersen’s archives were full of stories where staff had gone above and beyond for their patients.

A campaign called “Love + Medicine” shared true stories of Gundersen staff showing up in the moments that matter most. A therapy dog for a despondent senior. A nurse creating an in-room camping trip as a final wish for a hospice care mom. A rubber glove balloon character that got a scared kid to let the doctor look at his wound. These were the kind of personal connection moments that people keep coming back for.