How is Ebola impacting a Texas hospital’s brand?October - 2014

Today, you can’t scroll through social media, turn on a TV or read a publication without seeing a story about Ebola.

But imagine if you were the hospital treating the first Ebola cases diagnosed in the U.S. Beyond that, imagine if two of your front-line care providers now tested positive for the deadly disease.

Well, if you’re Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, you don’t have to imagine any of that. It’s reality.

And facing all of that, one can wonder, will the hospital suffer permanent brand damage from its association with Ebola? It’s too soon for us to tell, but a few things already are clear from a marketing point of view:

1. Brands can’t control external forces
2. Brands can influence internal brand forces
3. Communication is critical to a brand in chaos

Texas Health Presbyterian, like any other hospital, has no control over who walks in through the door of its ER or the extent of treatment that any such patient might require. Hospital care providers – including Nina Pham, the 26-year-old nurse now infected with Ebola – take enormous risks to help serve others.

Were any mistakes made at Texas Health Presbyterian while dealing with the now deceased Ebola patient Thomas Duncan? We don’t yet know, and that’s for others to determine. But what we do know is that many people have opinions about that question, both good and bad, and they are publicly sharing them. As brands, we can’t control these external forces, and leading organizations recognize this.

 So, what can a brand influence? Its own people and communication.

During this ongoing Ebola crisis, Texas Health Presbyterian has done a good job on these fronts:

• Town hall meetings were designed to keep staff engaged and informed
• As a faith-based organization, a prayer service was held for the hospital staff, including specifically those who treated the first Ebola patient
• An Ebola web page was set up for the community and media
• The hospital’s social media team has been incredibly responsive to comments and inquiries via both Facebook and Twitter

In moments of brand chaos, it’s easy to point fingers, but before passing judgment it’s wise to let all the facts play out in order to have a full and accurate perspective. All we can do right now is learn from this ongoing experience.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Nina Pham and Thomas Duncan. We also want to thank the front-line doctors, nurses and staff, not just at Texas Health Presbyterian, but every hospital in the U.S. that is currently preparing for and battling Ebola.