# How much do hospitals spend on advertising? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173 "2017-07-13T15:22:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/1 "2017-07-13T15:22:55Z")
I see a lot of advertisements for hospitals, and I know that TV commercials are not cheap to make. What percentage of a hospital’s budget goes to advertising? ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/2 "2017-07-13T17:37:30Z")
Obviously, from another country, I’ve never seen nor even **heard** of hospitals advertising until now. What exactly are their pitches ? Comfortable beds ? Better nurses ? Wiser doctors ? No Questions issue of drugs ? Cheaper prices ? ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/3 "2017-07-13T17:40:20Z")
From what I’ve seen, advertisements usually either cover outpatient programs, or fancy maternity wings. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/4 "2017-07-13T17:47:29Z")
Radio ads here, primarily saying how good their care is. I don’t really get it, as it’s not as if there is a choice within 60 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/5 "2017-07-13T17:52:12Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > Obviously, from another country, I’ve never seen nor even **heard** of hospitals advertising until now. What exactly are their pitches ? Comfortable beds ? Better nurses ? Wiser doctors ? No Questions issue of drugs ? Cheaper prices ? IME, hospital and clinic advertising usually goes with “wiser doctors” and/or better technology. There are often sleekly modern facilities showcased as well. Conveniences (such as parking) are not specifically mentioned, but I bet that they are there subliminally. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/6 "2017-07-13T21:18:07Z")
Here in St. Louis, BJC Healthcare has 15 hospitals and revenue of $4 billion (with a B) per year. The last figures I could find put the most expensive 30 second TV commercials in the St. Louis market at around $1,700 - $2,000. For the top rated radio, stations, it’s about 1/10 that rate. Putting it another way, it means the hospital group could buy 2,000 of the most expensive prime-time commercials on the highest rated TV station in the area, and it would use up 0.001 of their revenue. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/7 "2017-07-13T21:24:18Z")
From [this article](http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/average-marketing-budget-hospital-17444.html) from an Arizona news website (part of USA Today), “According to a 2009 survey by the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, the average marketing budget for an American hospital ranged from $1.3 million for an independent hospital to about $5.8 million for a big health system. Though that may seem like a lot of money, it makes up less than 1 percent of the typical hospital budget.” Or from [Becker’s Hospital Review](http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/10-secrets-of-top-hospital-marketers.html), “According to a recent study by the American Hospital Association’s Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development, the average spending on all marketing activities was around 0.7 percent of net patient revenues.” ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/8 "2017-07-13T21:25:10Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Here in St. Louis, BJC Healthcare has 15 hospitals and revenue of $4 billion (with a B) per year. > > The last figures I could find put the most expensive 30 second TV commercials in the St. Louis market at around $1,700 - $2,000. For the top rated radio, stations, it’s about 1/10 that rate. > > Putting it another way, it means the hospital group could buy 2,000 of the most expensive prime-time commercials on the highest rated TV station in the area, and it would use up 0.001 of their revenue. Does that cost include production, or just airtime? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/9 "2017-07-13T22:10:47Z")
Here in Metro NYC, the are lots of hospitals ads, both on tv and radio. They are generally of the format, “If you need Treatment XYZ, come to us, because we have the most modern equipment, and our doctors have the most experience and/or invented it.” Once you get to the hospital, there are loads of amenities to try and get you to come back, like one patient to a room. But that stuff is rarely in the ads. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/10 "2017-07-13T22:56:33Z")
I’ve seen billboards touting short emergency room wait times, some of them with dynamic information. “Current Wait Time-45 minutes” or whatever the current wait time is. I’ve never been to one based on an advertisement, so don’t know if the projected wait time is accurate or merely an expression of intent. It always seems odd to me to think of people cruising around shopping for emergency treatment and spotting a billboard. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2017, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/11 "2017-07-13T23:08:51Z")
A few years ago, I was paid $100 cash and a brown bag lunch to participate along with a couple dozen others in a guided discussion/marketing research sponsored by a local hospital network. I see their ads frequently during local primetime television, so there could be a fairly sizeable investment. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-hospitals-spend-on-advertising/791173/12 "2017-07-14T00:00:41Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Does that cost include production, or just airtime? Just airtime. Bare bones production will cost a few thousand dollars (and of course, can go up to the moon.)