Knox's Blog

“Hey, that’s us,” I exclaimed to myself the first time I heard our Inova spot on the radio! Then just a week ago, I spotted our new logo with our ad plastered across the side of a metro bus, larger than life. And then I saw the ad on TV.

This time I thought, “We are indeed larger than life.” I’m so glad to be able to brag about our outstanding rankings in the 2012-2013 US News and World Report of Best Hospitals every chance I get. We were nationally ranked in Cardiology and Heart Surgery and Gynecology. We also ranked #1 in the Washington, DC metro area and we ranked #2 in Virginia and were recognized in Northern Virginia.

I have to admit I am proud. Excellence in patient care happens when committed staff delivers quality medical service. The commitment to excellence begins with each one of us who effectively translate that commitment to each other and to our patients. I know we all work hard every day – I see it everywhere I go and I hear from the many folks I meet with about the wonderful initiatives happening and about our fabulous teamwork. Our nurses, doctors, medical support staff – so many folks are giving it their very best. And it shows in the recognition we receive and the bragging I hear all over town. “My doctor was the best, I had this done and my experience was excellent, the nurses were amazing, did you know ….” and on and on.

This is why every member of the Inova family can take credit for these awards. We each make a difference, one patient and one smile at a time. Call me biased, but I think each one of our departments should be recognized and in fact, many have, which you can check out on the web at www.inova.org/awards.

So each time I see our banners, hear our ads or see a bus zip by, I grin and admit that I do indeed talk to myself and if you were a fly on my windshield you’d probably hear me say, “hey, that’s us and we rock!”

If 40 different people added title suggestions for this blog, and I incorporated all the suggestions, the title might be about as long and confusing.

So I say, hooray to simplifying to one brand. One consistent look and feel. One logo. One message. Right now we are approximately 305 Inova entities (programs, institutes, centers, etc.) and there haven’t been any hard fast rules as to who gets to name what. And as we’ve grown, it’s gotten a bit out of hand.  In some cases, we have institutes with 100 people and other institutes with two. The end result is we’re confusing out patients and the community.

“Brand” is more than marketing.  It’s about people’s experience with your company. If you are loyal to a particular brand, then you understand. Brand creates a strong association between a company’s products and what the brand represents. For instance, you can walk into an Izod store, a Starbucks’ coffee shop or a Marriott hotel anywhere in the world and if that is your preferred “brand,” you will feel right at home. You know that Izod’s stitching will be perfect, Starbucks’ coffee strong and Marriott’s bedspreads clean and modern.

At Inova, we do the right thing for the community and for the patient experience. Our brand is reflected in our culture which boils down to how we treat each other and how we treat our patients. It’s about being proud to a part of the Inova family and believing in our vision to optimize health and well-being. And so, to keep with our new focus and our simplified and personalized plans, I think it’s important to stick true to the unified brand of Inova (and I won’t change my blog name – I’ll keep it “Opportunity Knox”).

Tell me, what are your favorite brands and why?