How IBJI Created a Multi-Channel Marketing Powerhouse with Predictive Patient Targeting
This content was originally created by SocialClimb now part of RLDatix. Explore Predictive Patient Targeting and Reputation Management to learn more about these modules.
Breaking Through in a Crowded Market
Managing marketing for 170+ physicians across 100+ locations throughout Illinois, Darci Grum knew she needed something different to stand out. As Chief Marketing Officer for Illinois Bone and Joint Institute (IBJI), Darci faces fierce competition from major hospital systems and every major hospital network in the Chicago area—all with significant marketing budgets backing their orthopedic programs.
“We’re a privately-owned, physician-owned company competing against hospital money,” explains Darci. “It takes a long time to convince, to show, to prove success. A lot of the hesitation comes from the lack of ROI and full funnel transparency.”
Darci Grum
Director of Marketing and Foundation
When IBJI’s team wanted to test new marketing approaches, they chose one of their most challenging markets: the north side of Chicago. This business unit was struggling with appointment volume despite being in the most competitive orthopedic market in IBJI’s territory. Darci knew that whatever solution they tested had to deliver measurable and undeniable results.
The Multi-Channel Experiment
Rather than treating SocialClimb’s Predictive Patient Targeting as a standalone direct mail solution, Darci and her team saw an opportunity to create something more holistic: a fully integrated, multi-touch campaign that would follow patients across multiple channels.
“The way we did everything was completely in-house and interconnected,” says Darci. “We weren’t just sending postcards and hoping for the best. We created a unified experience from the mailbox to social media to our website.”
The campaign targeted 12,932 individuals identified by SocialClimb’s Predictive Patient Targeting tool as “extremely at risk” and “high-risk” for needing knee services across three zip codes on Chicago’s north side. But here’s where IBJI got creative: they used this data to create a custom audience in Meta, then built matching creative assets across every touchpoint.
