Your Input Wanted on Branding Initiative

Jun 09, 2019 Re-posted from the June 2019 issue of Vascular Specialist

Respond to Survey by June 26

Vascular health is everything. Are vascular surgeons leaders? Partners? Or both?

To position the Society for Vascular Surgery – and its members – for the future, the SVS is launching a multi-pronged branding initiative.

And feedback from every SVS member is needed, wanted and welcomed.

The branding initiative is a top priority of the SVS Strategic and Executive boards. Now, after 18 months of groundwork that has included working with a health care branding consulting firm, two separate concepts have emerged: “Leaders” and “Partners.” “These concepts crystallize and tell our story by stressing our roles as leaders and partners in vascular health,” said Joseph Mills, MD, chair of the SVS Publicity and Public Outreach Committee, which is spearheading the initiative.

“Members have all told us they’re concerned other key stakeholders don’t truly understand what we know, what we do, and how we’re uniquely trained to address the entire spectrum of vascular diagnosis and treatment,” he said. “We partner with primary care physicians and other specialists. We are the leaders and innovators. This vital initiative will deliver the message.”

The message, however, needs to be honed and refined by vascular surgeons themselves, he stressed. Members attending the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting will have the opportunity to review a variety of materials that illustrate both the “leaders” and “partners” concepts, as well as accompanying taglines, and offer their feedback. This will take place at the SVS Booth, No. 331.

Those who are unable to attend VAM will also be extended the opportunity to provide input and share their thoughts, via the same survey, at vsweb.org/SVSBrandingFeedback. The survey will open online after June 15 and remain available until June 26. “We want every member to be a part of this initiative,” said Dr. Mills.

SVS members, through their feedback and comments, will help us to “get the message right,” he said. Over the coming year, the priority is to get this message out to primary referral sources, including those in internal medicine, family practice, podiatry, emergency rooms, wound centers, and others. A separate campaign will be designed to reach hospital administrators, patients and the public.

“But,” said Dr. Mills, “this initiative all starts with our members who are leading the way in this effort. We truly want to hear from all of you.”

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