John Wooden, the famous “winningest coach" of UCLA basketball, knew the beauty of the basics. At the beginning of every season he would spend the first two hours of practice teaching his star freshmen how to properly put on their shoes and socks. The socks were to be pulled tight without wrinkles and the shoes were to be laced one eyelet at a time with double knots to keep them secure. At first, his incoming superstars would scoff. Then he would explain his rationale: poorly tied shoes came untied and could get you taken out of the game; poorly worn socks would cause blisters and slow you down. In a game as complex and competitive as Division I basketball, the things everyone took for granted, the basics, could be the difference between victory and defeat.
Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
Today, it’s easy for healthcare marketers to overlook this lesson. Just think of the issues vying for your attention: channel proliferation and the rise of social media; an awakened FDA testing its regulatory muscle; shifting competitive landscapes driven by upstarts and corporate takeovers; budget constraints and staffing issues. These are just some of the dizzying array of challenges our clients are facing every day as they strive to make each of their brands a breakout success. To turn these challenges into opportunities takes courageous ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible. But if you want your ideas to be more than just a few aspirational words on a PowerPoint slide, it takes something more: a respect for the basics. When LLNS relaunched and reclaimed a name its clients know and respect for getting things right, it went back to delivering the basics in this business: Creative ideas, strategically driven, flawlessly executed. This is the foundation from which great ideas aren’t just born, but from which they grow and thrive. This is the foundation on which agencies build the most treasured resource in business: trust. Earning Trust We believe that an agency earns your trust every time the people who actually pitch your business, work on your business. An agency earns your trust every time it delivers a project on time and within budget. An agency earns your trust every time you pick up the phone and reach exactly who you need at that moment. An agency earns your trust by doing what many others overlook in these hectic times. Only then does an agency deserve to be called that wonderful word: partner. Because once an agency has earned your trust, they can start to build your brand far beyond the basics. When they talk to you about an approach to social media, you will listen knowing that they can deliver. With a basis of trust, they can work with you to actually close the loop in closed loop marketing, or to make your PR work harder with your professional promotion, or to make your global brand singularly focused yet locally relevant. That’s why at LLNS, at the start of every day we pull our socks on tight and lace our shoes with care. n LLNS To turn these challenges into opportunities takes courageous ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible. But if you want your ideas to be more than just a few aspirational words on a PowerPoint slide, it takes something more: a respect for the basics. The Beauty of the Basics Steven Hébert Executive Creative Director LLNS, a healthcare communications company, prides itself on creating bold, idea-driven communications that maximize brand success. For more information, visit llns.com.
