Cancer Treatment Centers of America: The Branding of Cancer Care

Cancer: it is a word that far too many have heard in the context of themselves or loved ones. It strikes fear into the strongest of hearts. The one thing every cancer patient has in common is the search for hope. The latest technology and diagnostic equipment, along with groundbreaking treatments serve to offer hope to all cancer patients. However, these resources don’t come without an extensive cost to patients and their families. New cancer drugs cost, on average, $10,000 per month and that is not the only expense to cancer patients. According to a US News & World Report article, “drugs themselves account for only 24 percent of direct cancer costs. Hospital and outpatient facilities account for 54 percent of costs, and physician fees account for 22 percent” (Glover, 2015). Despite the growing cost for cancer care, one hospital system, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, has built a brand with a foundation of hope for cancer patients throughout the United States. Since they are a privately owned corporation, exact revenue data is hard to find. However, according to bizjournals.com, the company brings in over $965 million annually. (Owler, 2016)

Cancer Treatment Centers of America has built its brand by promising hope for patients and families facing a cancer diagnosis. The for-profit network of hospitals was founded in 1988 by Richard J. Stephenson. Stephenson, an investment banker who attended Northwestern University School of Law, founded the first hospital in Zion, Illinois after his mother was diagnosed and subsequently died from bladder cancer. Stephenson was dissatisfied with the treatment options for his mother and wanted a hospital that offered more comprehensive care (Cancer Treatment Centers of America). The hospital system currently has five locations strategically located near major cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tulsa. They are expected to reach a patient count of close to seventy-five hundred in 2017 (Cook, 2016). Interestingly enough, the hospital system is not National Cancer Institute designated or even recognized by the medical community as the top cancer centers in the country (Sabin, 2014).

When it comes to branding and marketing, no one in the business of cancer care comes close to the marketing budget of Cancer Treatment Centers of America. It is estimated at around $102 million annually with the closest cancer institution, MD Anderson, only being at $14 million (Cook, 2016). Almost sixty percent of all cancer center advertising dollars in 2014 came from Cancer Treatment Centers of America (Vater, 2016). The organization has used a variety of marketing agencies to target specific audiences throughout the years. In 2013, they hired Infinity Concepts to assist in targeting evangelicals and Creative Civilization in order to target the Hispanic community (Inifinty Concepts, 2013) (Aldridge, 2013). In a Journal of the American Medical Association study, it was noted that Cancer Treatment Centers of America spent close to $59 million to reach a national audience and targeted nearly $19 million towards its internet campaign. Cancer Treatment Centers of America understand the art of content marketing and their television, radio and social media campaigns are centered around powerful patient testimonials.

Unfortunately, the hope promised in the moving patient testimonials are not always reality. In a 1996 Federal Trade Commission complaint launched against the organization, allegations of unsubstantiated claims and inflated survivorship statistics were made. According to the FTC's complaint describing the accusations, Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s:

promotional brochure, which was disseminated nationwide, represented that the respondents had statistical evidence to demonstrate that their survivorship rate for cancer patients was among the highest recorded and that whole body hyperthermia could successfully treat certain forms of cancer that were previously unresponsive to conventional types of cancer treatment. In addition, the FTC alleged that the brochure had falsely claimed that whole body hyperthermia had been approved for the treatment of cancer by an independent agency or medical organization. According to the complaint, however, the respondents did not have adequate evidence to back up any of these claims. These claims do not appear in the brochure that CTCA currently provides to consumers. The complaint also alleges that, through a print advertisement, respondents represented that, through a procedure identified as brachytheraphy, respondents were able to improve the chances of survival for many lung cancer patients. This representation was also not substantiated adequately, according to the complaint. Finally, according to the FTC, the respondents represented, without a reasonable basis, that consumer testimonials featured in their ads reflected the typical experience of patients who had undergone treatment at the respondents' treatment centers (Federal Trade Commission, 1996). 

Cancer Treatment Centers of America does not accept Medicaid and only accepts Medicare in a few of its hospitals. By eliminating these two populations, they skew their survival statistics in comparison to other national statistics such as those provided by the National Cancer Institute. By treating the young and newly diagnosed, it is argued that Cancer Treatment Centers of America distort their survival data heavily in their favor.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America use many platforms to market their brand with content heavy promotional campaigns. Social media sites such as Facebook®, Twitter® and Google+® are all laced with moving patient testimonials and cancer resources. They are graphic and video heavy with most posts leading back to original content produced by the organization. This original content, along with a paid Google AdWords® campaign, give them an optimal SEO ranking (Sabin, 2014). Their Pinterest® and YouTube® accounts are broken into sub-categories featuring nutrition, patient testimonials, research, caregiver information and many other resources for cancer patients and their families. Their television and digital media ads are centered around patient testimonials which are featured on all of their marketing platforms. Another marketing strategy used by the organization to promote their brand is sponsorships. Cancer Treatment Centers of America partners with organizations such as National Public Radio, Stand Up To Cancer and Stupid Cancer,
 just to name a few. These sponsorships allow the organization to target a more specific audience such as the wealthy and affluent with National Public Radio and the young with Stand Up To Cancer and Stupid Cancer.

Do all of those marketing dollars spent add up to bigger brand recognition and more patients? Well, in a 2015 BrandIndex survey, Cancer Treatment Centers of America captured a top ten brand recognition spot with along the likes of Amazon®, Netflix®, Apple® and Lowes® and patient numbers should top the seven thousand mark in 2017 (Lukovitz, 2016). Cancer Treatment Centers of America continues to grow and are even looking to expand internationally. They recently launched their first international patient concierge in Mexico City in 2015. They also market to Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East in efforts to recruit patients to one of the US cancer sites.
There is no doubt that Cancer Treatment Centers of America is a strong brand in cancer care. They own the cancer care market in terms of brand recognition. They effectively operate many media platforms to reach their national target audience as well as campaigns directed towards more specific marks such as the relatively young and wealthy. With revenues topping $900 million annually and brand recognition competing with some of the best brands globally like Apple® and Amazon®, much less in healthcare, it is hard to argue that the marketing efforts as it relates to brand recognition are more than paying off.


Bibliography
Aldridge, J. (2013, March 25). Creative Civilization lands Cancer Treatment Centers’ Hispanic ad account. Retrieved from sanantoniobusinessjournal.com: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2013/03/25/creative-civilization-lands-cancer.html
Cancer Treatment Centers of America. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from cancercenter.com: http://www.cancercenter.com/about-us/history/
Cook, D. (2016, July 13). Big ad budget pays off for Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Retrieved from benefitspro.com: http://www.benefitspro.com/2016/07/13/big-ad-budget-pays-off-for-cancer-treatment-center
Federal Trade Commission. (1996, March 13). Companies that Purport to Successfully Treat Cancer Agree to Settle FTC Charges Over their Claims. Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.
Glover, L. (2015, July 1). Oncologists Worry About Rising Costs of Cancer Treatment. Retrieved from usnews.com: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/07/01/oncologists-worry-about-rising-costs-of-cancer-treatment
Inifinty Concepts. (2013, February 3). INFINITY CONCEPTS ANNOUNCES CANCER TREATMENT CENTERS OF AMERICA AS NEWEST CLIENT. Retrieved from infinityconcepts.com: http://infinityconcepts.net/2013/02/infinity-concepts-announces-cancer-treatment-centers-of-america-as-newest-client/
Lukovitz, K. (2016, January 13). BrandIndex Ranks Perception Winners, Losers 2015. Retrieved from mediapost.com: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/266435/brandindex-ranks-perception-winners-losers-2015.html
Owler. (2016, December 31). Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Inc. Retrieved from bizjournals.com: http://companies.bizjournals.com/profile/cancer-treatment-centers-of-america/195504/
Sabin, G. (2014, June 23). Cancer Treatment Centers of America: 800-Pound Marketing Gorilla. Retrieved from fonconsulting.com: https://fonconsulting.com/blog/cancer-treatment-centers-of-america-800-pound-marketing-gorilla/#print
Vater, L. B. (2016). Trends in Cancer-Center Spending on Advertising in the United States, 2005 to 2014. JAMA Internal Medicine, 1214-1216.