OCA ADVERTISING:
IT’S THE
SIMPLE THINGS
In 2016, the OCA made the decision to invest in a new
marketing campaign that would include a new broadcast
advertisement as its centrepiece.
T
he timing was right. Research
shows that Ontario utilization has
climbed to over 20% in recent
years as chiropractors are increasingly
seen as part of a person’s regular
healthcare team and the profession is
becoming a more prominent part of
Ontario’s healthcare system through
collaborative approaches to care,
a greater presence in hospitals and
government funding for joint projects to
address pain management issues.
As we began the work of crafting what
our key message was going to be, we
interviewed stakeholders, patients and
members, and we reviewed research or
surveys looking for key insights.
A few interesting facts emerged. To
most Ontarians, visiting a practitioner
like a chiropractor is done on an “as
needed” basis. You go when you have a
condition or need treatment. It’s similar
to purchasing a car. When you are in the
market for a vehicle, you are going to
be more aware of car-based marketing.
Otherwise, it fades in the background.
6
FALL 2017
In much of the research we looked at,
the number one reason that patients say
they haven’t gone to see a chiropractor
is not because of reputational issues, or
even price, but simply because “they did
not need to.”
But our research also showed that low
back pain alone is one of the leading
causes of disability worldwide, affecting
over 80% of the population at some
point in their lives. So why are so many
Ontarians saying they don’t need to see
a chiropractor?
The answer may lie in the rationalization
of pain. Too many of us make excuses
when it comes to the impact that pain
has in our lives. “It’s not that big of a
deal” and “I’ve gotten used to it” are
sentiments that many chiropractors
hear constantly in their practice. Many
times when you first feel pain, it’s
constantly top of mind. But as time goes
on, people just learn to live with it and
adjust the way they live and how they go
about their lives. That shouldn’t be normal.
That’s why the campaign is focused
on making Ontarians realize that our
lives are made up of a series of small
moments. We all experience common
every day rituals like getting out of
bed, going up a set of stairs, lifting a
child or simply getting dressed. When
pain enters the picture, those simple
things can become insurmountable
obstacles. That set of stairs can feel like
an insurmountable mountain.
Our Simple Things campaign tells Ontarians
that struggling through those moments
isn’t normal, that they should be able
to live their lives to the full extent of
their ability, free from pain, and that a
chiropractor can help them get there.
Once the advertisement was created,
our plan called for a number of different
tactics that can reach out to Ontarians
across the province. We wanted to be
continually in market so that we could
reach potential patients whenever
they needed to see a chiropractor. We
wanted to drive traffic to our website’s
Chiropractor Locator and we wanted
to leverage our broadcast video into
a digital environment to stretch our
budget as far as it could go.