After HealthSouth acquired Encompass Home Health & Hospice in December 2014, company leadership saw an opportunity to bring the two business segments together under one solid brand that would define the company and its place in the industry.
Meet the brains behind the brand
There’s too many to name in this space. We reached out to employees, as well as outside sources, including shareholders, physicians, joint venture partners and more. To help guide the process, Prophet, a well-known branding consulting firm, was selected.
It has helped grow some big-name brands. You might have heard of a few of them: BMW, GE, Best Buy, Target and Marriott. The firm also has lots of experience working with healthcare organizations including clients such as Novant Health and Optum.
It’s not just a name and logo, said Scott Davis, chief growth officer of Prophet. He should know. Scott’s written three books on the subject of branding, and has been a brand consultant for nearly 30 years, 17 of which have been with Prophet. Scott said a strong brand defines an organization and its purpose and gives employees a unified voice. Scott referenced that, while the company is unique to competitors with its strong network of inpatient and home-based care and partnerships with acute care providers, research revealed that both segments were lacking a strong brand that told that story. A brand like Encompass Health can more clearly communicate how the organization is different– not just in the continuum of care that we provide, but how we provide it.
“You guys are leaning forward,” Scott said. “With HealthSouth and Encompass Home Health coming together under one brand, that’s a huge step forward in following the trend lines and being innovative in terms of the way you provide care. (Encompass Health) really is a nod to the future of healthcare.”
Having both business segments under one brand also eliminates confusion, said Barb Jacobsmeyer, executive vice president of operations. When a patient is transferring from an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to home health, the new brand will ensure the patient knows it is one experience with the same company.
“Right now, it’s introducing someone who works for Encompass Home Health or HealthSouth,” Barb said. “In the future, it will be introducing a colleague.”
Why a new name?
That’s the same question company leadership asked in the beginning stages of the branding initiative. In fact, a new name wasn’t in the original game plan at all.
“When we first started talking, (executive leadership’s) instructions to us were that we know we need to work on our brand, but our name and logo – that’s off the table,” said Peter Dixon, Prophet’s chief creative officer.
After two rounds of in-depth research with those in the healthcare industry as well as communities we serve, it became clear, a change was needed. First, HealthSouth is hardly a Southern company any longer.
“We’ve grown now to 36 states,” said Mark Tarr, president and CEO. “If you look at the map, we have a growing presence out West. We’ve had people in Portland, Maine for years asking why they’re HealthSouth. It truly doesn’t reflect who we are as a market anymore.”
That got Prophet looking into what name did truly reflect the company’s evolution. Scott said it needed to be something that speaks to the company’s future. They could have chosen a completely new name, but “that’s pretty much impossible,” Scott said. “All the good names are taken, and there are a lot of made up names out there that don’t have a lot of meaning.”
Before starting all over, Scott said they looked within the company for names we already owned. It didn’t take long to stumble across Encompass Home Health & Hospice.
“We couldn’t come up with a better name for what the company stood for,” Scott said. “It’s highly descriptive of this new combined entity and really represents what we’re trying to do.”
More than meets the eye: The New Logo
Look at it closely, and you’ll see much more than curvy, connected lines. Peter and his team at Prophet saw to it that the logo fully represented the company, and “encompassed,” if you will, the new brand.
“It’s not just about what a designer thinks is cool,” Peter said of developing the new logo. “It’s strategic. We wanted to link the shapes, lines and color imagery to a business idea. We developed a line element that uses color and form, and creates a connection that linked words and imagery together in a way that really spoke to the new brand.”
That idea led to a logo that symbolizes collaboration and connectivity, as well as compassion and innovation. On first look, the design pulls in the Encompass Health name with the E, and a single line connects them all through the center. Look closer, and you’ll see it also represents interlocking hands and even resembles the universal medical symbol.
The color purple
Yes, there’s meaning there, too. First, there was an opportunity. Red and blue are largely used by competitors, but purple was virtually untapped in the healthcare field. Which is a good thing for the Encompass Health brand, considering the color symbolizes compassion as well as innovation and forward thinking. Couple that with collaboration and connectivity, and you have our new brand, Encompass Health.
What’s to come
“This is just the beginning of the journey,” Scott said. Unlike some organizations, the company chose to roll out the new brand over a two-year period. The six months before the company name officially becomes Encompass Health will give referrals and patients plenty of time to get to know the new brand.
“Nothing is really going to change over the next few months,” Scott said. “That’s what’s so amazing and different from other projects I’ve been involved with. Leadership said they wanted to take it slowly and be methodical. They want to engage all 35,000-plus employees to take a journey to help co-create this new brand.”
Beginning in August, work began to translate the new unified brand into shared values in a way where all employees could contribute. These values will ensure the all team members are on the same page to deliver on our brand promise and improve patient outcomes. As for the new name and logo. Well, it was official in February, and when the new home office in Birmingham opens in the spring it will bear the Encompass Health name and logo. As for individual locations, that will be determined on a site-by-site basis with local leadership providing information on the official launch.
At the end of the day
As it was with HealthSouth and Encompass Home Health & Hospice, it is and will continue to be all about our patients and providing the best possible care in a cost-effective manner with Encompass Health. With the launch of the new brand on Feb. 6, 2018, we will be the same great company, with a stronger, more unified story to tell.
The content of this site is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding any medical conditions or treatments.
