McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, is a world leader in the treatment of mental illness and chemical dependency, research into the cause of mental illness and the training of generations of mental health care providers. Patricia Kennedy and her brand development team worked with McLean’s senior staff and marketing department through a comprehensive program to assess its brand position, develop a process to create an aspirational brand and announce the initiative to internal audiences. This work was conducted on many levels and through several iterations over several years in order to ensure inclusion of input from all stakeholders and eventual buy-in from all brand ambassadors.

We provided:

• Market Research Services: strategic guidance and project management including interviews with stakeholders, an assessment of older market research provided by Partners HealthCare and other organizations, selection of a market research firm for quantitative research, final analysis and recommendations

• Brand Platform Development: managing the process as to whether to “expand” the McLean Hospital name, differentiators, the brand promise, personality and key characteristics, positioning line, and messaging

• Collateral Materials: Brand Book

• Internal Launch: Campaign theme, employee brand book, employee postcards, barbecue event announcing the new brand