The idea driving this work was to connect with families at a pivotal life moment - when they have recently relocated to the area and are actively searching for new healthcare providers. Moving to a new community often creates uncertainty around where to turn for trusted medical care, especially for families managing multiple health needs. This initiative was designed to meet those families early, with relevant, welcoming messaging that positioned University Hospitals as a reliable and accessible partner in their health journey.
The primary goal was to build awareness and meaningful connection with new residents by reaching them at a time when healthcare decisions are top of mind. By proactively introducing UH’s network of primary care providers, we aimed to reduce the friction families often experience when trying to establish care in a new city.
A second key goal was to clearly position UH as the go-to health system for primary care, emphasizing trust, convenience, and comprehensive family care. Through targeted outreach, we sought to make it easy for new residents to understand UH’s offerings and take the next step toward scheduling an appointment. Ultimately, this work focused on helping families quickly feel supported in their new community while driving early engagement and long-term relationships with UH.
To bring this project to life, we began with a clear insight: nearly one in five Americans moves each year, and many arrive in a new community without an established primary care provider. This presented a powerful opportunity to reach “undoctored” prospects at a moment when healthcare decisions are top of mind. Our plan of action centered on early engagement—introducing University Hospitals (UH) as a trusted, convenient option and making it easy for families to take the next step toward care.
We partnered with Lionshare to execute a six-month, automated lead generation and nurturing program that integrated direct mail, social, and email. This multi-channel strategy allowed us to engage households offline first, then continue the conversation digitally once interest was established. Launched in April 2025, the program was intentionally designed as a multi-touch, two-drop direct mail campaign to build awareness, drive response, and deepen engagement over time.
The first touch was a 6x9 print package that included an envelope, personalized letter, bi-fold, magnet, business reply card, and a first-aid kit offer—providing immediate, practical value to families. The second touch followed with a tri-fold self-mailer featuring a digital thermometer offer, reinforcing the message and increasing response rates. A key feature of the program was preference capture, which allowed respondents to select health topics of interest and enabled more personalized follow-up.
To further increase relevance, all mailers were customized by county, ensuring residents received information about primary care practices located in their own neighborhoods. Responders received a personalized fulfillment package containing their selected item, a tailored letter, and additional information based on their stated interests—strengthening the connection between UH and each household.
Audience targeting was another critical differentiator. We segmented households with incomes of $75K+ and children present, aligning the effort with UH’s priority growth segments most likely to engage in and sustain ongoing primary care relationships. Once prospects responded, we captured demographic data and communication preferences to support email follow-up focused on scheduling primary care appointments and enrolling in relevant e-newsletters.
One of the primary challenges was reaching audiences not yet represented in traditional healthcare databases. We overcame this by leveraging similar demographic data to identify and target potential new movers through social channels, extending reach beyond direct mail alone. The result was a highly integrated, data-driven program that met families where they were - making this approach a unique and effective way to introduce UH and build long-term patient relationships.
The results of this campaign strongly met—and exceeded—our team’s objectives by validating both the strategy and execution behind reaching new movers and “undoctored” families. Our primary goal was to drive awareness and prompt action among households actively seeking a new primary care provider, and the data clearly shows that we succeeded.
Most notably, households who received the mailer were 81.27% more likely to schedule an appointment compared to the control group. This significant conversion rate lift confirms that our targeted, value-driven messaging resonated at the right moment in the consumer journey. The campaign generated 467 scheduled appointments, outperforming the equalized control by 225 appointments and demonstrating true incremental impact.
From a growth standpoint, 12% of scheduled appointments were new patients, directly supporting our objective to introduce UH to families not previously connected to our system. Financially, the campaign delivered $241,711 in total charges attributed to marketing impact and achieved a 2.7:1 return on investment, reinforcing that the program was not only effective but efficient.
Additionally, a 6% response rate - with 242 responses from 4,052 households - outperformed typical direct mail benchmarks, especially for healthcare acquisition campaigns. This success reflects the strength of the multi-touch approach, hyper-local customization, and tangible health-related offers that created trust and relevance.
We consider this effort a success because it combined precise targeting, personalized outreach, and integrated follow-up to produce measurable behavior change, new patient growth, and strong financial return—proving this approach is both scalable and impactful for future acquisition efforts.
