Will it Play in Peoria?

By Tracy Trettin, Marketing Manager

In a recent Webiscope blog post, our client Katrina Griffin, Web coordinator at Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, asked “Do you think it would be worth it to do a [marketing] campaign on features of the Web site?” Her question was submitted only two weeks before her Web site became the talk of the town.

Methodist Medical Center recently placed Geonetric’s Wait Time Module on the front page of its Web site. The module allows patients heading to the emergency department to find out how long of a wait they can expect. Wednesday, the Journal Star (the largest newspaper in the Peoria area) covered the story and every news station in Peoria soon followed. According to Katrina, the module has created a lot of buzz in the community.

Another Geonetric client, Genesis Health System in Davenport, Iowa, also received press targeting their Web site. Genesis, which worked with Geonetric to develop the Wait Time Module, also worked with us to develop a backpack module. Each year, Genesis conducts a campaign to encourage students to lighten their backpacks. Last summer, they wanted to develop an online game to tie into their offline marketing efforts. We created a backpack calculator that allows students to virtually load their backpack and check the weight. Within one month, the calculator was developed and installed, and it received coverage on a local TV show, which directed viewers to Genesis’ home page and showed them how to use the calculator. The local newspapers also covered the story. Following the TV coverage, traffic to the calculator page increased by 19 percent and traffic to their index page increased by 23 percent.

So, I think this answers Katrina’s question.

How has your Web site helped generate press?