Where'd You Go?

St. Anthony's marketing campaign highlights a custom as uniquely “St. Louis” as Ted Drewes and toasted ravioli, recently added a contest component to further involve the community.

St. Anthony’s Medical Center introduced its “Where Did You Go” (as in, Where did you go to high school?) marketing campaign in 2010. Broadcast, outdoor and print ads feature actual area residents, talking about which high school they attended, from Fox to Soldan to Oakville.

The former students are pictured in their “glory days” yearbook shots, as well as in current photos of them as grown-ups, touting the medical care they received at St. Anthony’s, (as in, Where did you go for cardiac care?).

This year’s campaign featured a new twist, as area residents were invited to submit their own high school photos to be posted online. Friends, family and members of the community could cast daily votes for the “best photo,” with top vote-getters eligible to win prizes.

The unusual campaign plays on the much acclaimed or maligned (depending on your viewpoint) St. Louis “parochialism,” and draws people to not only visit but also encourage others to visit the hospital’s website.

“We wanted to show the community what great experiences our patients (their neighbors) are having and we wanted to do it in a way all St. Louisans can relate to,” said Tess Niehaus, vice president of Marketing and Communications at St. Anthony’s.