What Was the “Buzz” at the 2018 RISE Nashville Summit?

by Kristin Hundley | Mar 19, 2018

Booth #77 was rockin’ in the Music City!

Last week we dusted off our boots and headed south to Nashville, determined to create a “buzz”—both literally and figuratively!—at the 12^th Annual RISE Nashville Summit. Presented by the Resource Initiative and Society for Education (RISE), this healthcare networking and education event is one of the only annual gatherings for professionals in the field of risk adjustment. It gives healthcare payer executives and risk-bearing providers a chance to learn from industry experts and connect with vendors offering services for their needs.

For two years now at RISE, we’ve showcased our healthcare marketing, data analytics, and member outreach capabilities with eye-catching, fun, and “outside the box” booth displays. This year, many visitors said it was the best display at the show, and by far the most fun and interactive.

Our pre-show outreach materials teased folks about what to expect if they were to visit our booth in the exhibitor hall at the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville. Each piece was mailed and emailed to conference attendees before the show and mimicked one of our real member engagement strategies. These pieces were branded to our booth concept—a life-sized game of “Operation!”

Do you remember playing the board game as a child? It tests dexterity and risk when silly body parts (plastic pieces) are removed from an unfortunate patient on the board. In our version, booth visitors answered a series of questions, which in turn assigned them a “risk score” based on the frequency with which they selected answers with a riskier association. Here’s an example:

You wake up in the middle of the night, hear a car door slam, and hear someone walking around outside your home. What do you do?
Go outside to yell to scare them off
Sneak around your house like a ninja to see what’s going on
Peek out of your bedroom window and call 911
Call 911 and turn on the lights immediately

The score was prominently displayed in real time on an electronic dashboard that everyone could see. The leaderboard, as our visitors called it, became quite popular, as attendees returned to our booth often to see how their score compared to others at RISE.

The score also determined the number of seconds each person had to remove the body pieces from the cavity. To do this, each player had to use a set of large tweezers (well, BBQ tongs) that were attached by wire to the game board. If the booth visitor was sloppy and touched the metal sides of the hole, a sudden buzzer and light-up nose indicated the patient’s pain. Successful extractions netted the number of chances each player received in our drawing to win an Apple HomePod.

Our five-phase approach was explained to booth visitors and clearly displayed on the larger-than-life game board: plan, create, deploy, evaluate, and evolve. These five phases are at the basis of everything we do, and have helped us create successful campaigns time and time again, so of course we had fun sharing these with booth visitors.

Obviously, we had a BLAST at our booth, but the exhibitor hall was only one part of the entire conference. What did we actually learn at RISE during education sessions and networking events?

Competitive in nature

RISE attendees are a competitive bunch of folks! Our “Operation” players were “in it to win it” and take home the big prize at our booth!

How do we improve?

RISE attendees have a genuine interest in how their engagement strategies can be improved to boost response rates and improve their return on investment (ROI).

How do we engage?

We had a lot of conversations about Telephonic Case Management, which is when chronic care management (CCM) outreach is conducted telephonically. While this method of CCM is nothing new within the healthcare industry, it is a popular first touch before face-to-face or in-home visits.

Are they really happy?

Folks want to be recognized. They want to feel appreciated. Today, healthcare marketing and engagement campaigns need to be member-focused. There’s no better way to learn if your members are happy than to ask them. Are you actively engaging your members through the use of surveys? Are you incentivizing your members to complete the survey? It’s important to ask for your members’ opinions whenever and wherever you can.

Let’s get social

Members are more engaged with social media and are connected to their digital devices than ever before! Email marketing, SMS text campaigns, and member portals are a great way to communicate with and engage your members. In addition, social events like health and wellness fairs or member appreciation events can show your members appreciation, and act as a way to encourage them to take an active role in maintaining their health. And, why not ask them for feedback, too?