Healthcare brands face a unique challenge: their audiences aren’t just consumers—they’re patients, families, and communities placing their trust in providers at some of the most vulnerable moments in life. Building that level of trust takes more than a new logo or a polished campaign. It takes a brand that truly reflects the care experience it promises.
That’s exactly what we set out to build with HonorHealth.
From Fragmented Messaging to a Unified Brand
Before our partnership, HonorHealth’s marketing efforts felt disconnected—lacking a unified strategy and failing to tap into the emotional drivers that influence patient decisions. We stepped in to align their communications with a clear, purpose-driven brand platform that could resonate both internally and externally. The ultimate goal was for people to answer, "Who is HonorHealth?" with “An organization full of collaborative, approachable experts.”
Leading With Empathy
Subconscious emotion drives a staggering 90% of buying decisions–a powerful insight that shaped our approach from the start. We didn’t just guess what mattered to patients. We listened.
This would inform the overall strategy to build HonorHealth's reputation. We deeply understand this concept; our creative teams always strive to lead with empathy. To build upon that, we leaned on qualitative research, which included consumer perception analysis and input from HonorHealth healthcare providers, physicians, team members, and company stakeholders regarding the level of care they provide.
Based on qualitative research, they were on the right track. Research indicated the sentiment of "care feels different here" - warm, like a neighborhood gem, even though the organization is, in fact, a large healthcare company with locations throughout Arizona. We knew that ‘gut feeling’ should be infused throughout their marketing. We recommended a brand strategy session that would first determine the organization’s ‘why’ and then develop a warm, reliable, and accessible brand built around it.
Finding the Brand’s Truth
In a collaborative, full-day brand workshop, we worked with HonorHealth’s marketing team to define the pillars of their identity—from brand purpose and personality to tone, positioning, and tagline. We anchored our work in a framework built around the patient journey:
Awareness = Emotion (Why should I care?)
Consideration = Facts (What do you offer and how?)
Decision = Emotion (Do I trust you?)
By mapping brand strategy to each phase of the journey, we helped ensure that every part of the ecosystem worked together to drive action—and build trust.
Discovering a way forward
The workshop sparked a series of “aha” moments as we worked closely with HonorHealth to refine their brand strategy, focusing on key elements like purpose, positioning, messaging pillars, personality, and tagline. It was also an opportunity to engage and inspire their internal marketing team, helping them fully embrace the refreshed brand strategy.
In addition to defining the brand persona, we conducted a competitive analysis to help fine-tune the brand’s direction. This led to a complete overhaul of the verbal identity, shifting toward a more dynamic, straightforward, and even humorous tone. The visual identity was also transformed, with an expanded color palette, updated fonts, new photography, and fresh illustration styles. These changes captured HonorHealth’s bold, warm, and vibrant approach to healthcare—setting them apart from competitors and reinforcing a sense of both expertise and belonging.
Results that resonate on a human level
According to the World Business Forum, companies that clearly and consistently vocalize their purpose are proven to be much more profitable over time. By uncovering HonorHealth’s compelling purpose and expressing it in a real, human way, we initiated brand platform elements like positioning and persona to parallel their mission, vision, and values and attract a loyal fan base of future and current patients. Additionally, we inspired team members, physicians, and stakeholders to rally around their new brand.
This comprehensive rebrand fostered patient loyalty and spearheaded a new, collective image for the health system. Qualitative research suggests that internal teams and leadership are now rallying around the new brand and the emotion it elicits.
Ultimately, internal and external audiences are embracing the sentiment of HonorHealth’s tagline: Care feels better here.
Ready to Build a Brand People Trust With Their Lives?
If you're ready to redefine your brand around what matters most—empathy, trust, and real human connection—we're ready to help. At TrendyMinds, we don’t just build campaigns. We craft strategy-led, purpose-driven brand platforms that move people to act and organizations to grow.
Let’s uncover your “why”—and bring it to life in a way that lasts.