The Polyclinic, Part Deux

Sequels. Few are as entertaining and creative as the original. But just like the makers of The Godfather Part 2 and Thor: Ragnarok, we took the challenge to “beat the original” head-on for The Polyclinic Part Two: The Specialty Campaign.

Based on data that more and more people are self-referring to health care specialty services these days (completely bypassing their “regular” doctor), our goal was to let Seattleites know about the many specialty offerings at The Polyclinic. Creatively, our job was to grab people’s attention in a crowded market where The Polyclinic is outspent by as much as 6:1 by their competitors.

The original campaign, launched in early 2017, created local buzz via Pandora radio, digital and oversized bus wraps. So much buzz that everyone from bloggers who follow the campaign and report “sightings” to in-house creatives from competitive health care networks to media placement companies and even physicians and staff at The Polyclinic were talking about it and brainstorming new lines.

We knew that expectations for our sequel were high.

As creative directors, Michael McGrath and I also knew that The Polyclinic had become one of the most coveted creative assignments in the agency. So this year we decided to spread the love—opening up the assignment not just to the creative department, but to the entire agency. The result? This year’s bus campaign features ideas from almost every department in the agency: creative, yes but also account, social and PR. It’s the perfect example of how our clients benefit from a collaborative culture that encourages ideas from everyone—no matter what their business card says.