Werremeyer Creative Aims to “Make Lives Better” With Its New Direction
After two generations as a printing company plus another 56 years delivering impactful design and marketing solutions, Werremeyer Creative has zeroed in on its true passion. That’s why, at the beginning of 2019, the company shifted its focus to branding and marketing for the health and wellness industry. After all, “making lives better” was a natural fit.
“In 30 years of working in this business, I’ve learned that, because of our expanded service offering, our team can’t be everything to every type of business,” President & CEO Gretchen Werremeyer said. “That’s one of the reasons why it became so important to narrow our focus. We want to give our clients the true expertise they are looking for in the work we do for them.”
Continuing Along a Familiar Path
The Werremeyer team features over 50 years of experience working with clients in the health & wellness fields. We work in industries such as senior living, hospitals, medical practices, university schools of medicine and other healthcare fields. The new focus will continue to grow our client base regionally and across the country.
“We love the work we do,” Gretchen said. “We love working with our clients, and we look forward to seeing what the future brings in this expanding market. There are so many changes and opportunities in the healthcare industry. We feel this is a place we can make a real difference with our clients and the markets they serve.
“Communication between providers and their audiences are becoming more and more critical in this vertical. The multi-channel marketing approach that we take to reach our clients’ target audiences is unique, and the results have been very positive. That’s why we feel healthcare marketing is the perfect space for our company.”
Tailoring Plans to Each Client
Werremeyer’s experienced team tailors each marketing plan to its client needs and budget. The advantage of concentrating on a specific vertical, such as healthcare, is we can see patterns and trends that can easily be discovered and used to the client’s advantage. The agency quickly learns each company’s goals and objectives by studying past and current data plus industry trends and insights to understand the best way to market to our clients’ target audiences. Those factors lead to better results for everyone involved.
“We take a deep dive into understanding who our clients are targeting,” Gretchen said. “We want to find their audiences, so our clients can communicate with them. We study the customer journey. We figure out where the touchpoints are and how we can improve them. Ultimately, we want to analyze the target audience’s satisfaction level. We know our clients will become more profitable if they focus on their area of expertise, so that allows us to focus on ours. The combination leads to the ultimate happy client relationship.”
Knowing the Field Inside & Out
Everyone at Werremeyer has experience in their particular area with health & wellness clients. Whether that is branding, website design or digital marketing, this additional layer of expertise and deep knowledge in the healthcare industry speeds up the onboarding process for new clients and leads to long-term success.
“We know healthcare inside and out, so we’re able to move much quicker with new clients,” Vice President & Creative Director Steve Hartman said. “We can hit the ground running because we don’t have to learn the industry. Our team really enjoys developing new strategies, brands, and marketing plans. We love figuring out what differentiates our clients from others in the same vertical.”
Speaking the Language
While there are lots of similarities from business-to-business, the Werremeyer team recognizes how each client has its industry vernacular and unique approach to the language it prefers. For example, you never call senior housing a “facility.” Instead, you call it a “community.” But in search terms, we utilize the word facility because that is what people Google. We use surveys, formal focus groups and informal round-tables for our research to discover these unique characteristics of our clients.
“The health & wellness industry has its own language, and we speak that,” Gretchen said. “The concept is important because, when we build websites, manage social-media accounts, put together digital-marketing plans or design printed materials, we need to understand the language our clients use. It’s significant from both a verbal and written standpoint.
“By understanding how our clients want us to speak, write and design, we can present their messages in a clear and consistent manner,” Steve said. “And with many marketing regulations in the healthcare field, there is an expectation we know what we can and can’t do. Knowledge of those restrictions is important. That’s just another way we set ourselves apart.”
Working to Make Lives Better
With Werremeyer promoting a culture that Gretchen and Steve call a “tight-knit family,” the transition to health & wellness was very well received. Team members were excited about the concept of working on a daily basis with clients that “Make Lives Better.”
“I think the receptiveness of our staff speaks to the fact that we’re all mission-driven marketers and creatives who work well together and love being together,” Steve said. “It’s been a natural transition, and one that will serve us well for many years to come.”
A Legacy of Service & History of Respect
Gretchen, whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1904, is a fourth-generation owner. She has been with Werremeyer Creative for 30 years and has led the company for the last 20 years. Under Gretchen’s leadership, Werremeyer has grown into a full-service agency that focuses on branding and marketing. Werremeyer is a Certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) and has 15 outstanding employees ready to solve marketing mysteries.
“This transformation to health & wellness has been outstanding, and establishing a specific focus is like creating a whole new company,” Gretchen added. “It’s so exciting.”