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Zombies and other head-turning ideas unearth new business

At MDS, the inspiration for our breakthrough creative can come from unusual places. We dig-up the freshest ideas. Sort stones from sod. Nurture the best seeds. And then grow campaigns that we can sustain through changing economic seasons. Sometimes even we are surprised by what the process yields. While developing a campaign for medical-services industry clients, our uncommon approach took us to an unexpected place—beyond the grave—and unearthed surprising success.

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When Revenue Cycle Inc and RC Billing needed to quickly promote their services to medical professionals ahead of annual healthcare-industry conferences, they came to MDS Advertising. Our clients were ready for something new; the MDS creative team kicked its thinking into high gear.

The healthcare industry. Federal regulations. Medical care providers. Oncology and radiation services. Medical billing. We considered—and rejected—an array of ideas. Then we dug a little deeper—about six feet under.

Guided by our fearless creative director, we explored the shadowy artwork of classic thriller films to find imagery with just the right tone and style. It had to be bold. Dramatic. Blood-pumping. It had to be Night of the Living Dead.


As concepts go, reawakening zombies to motivate healthcare professionals is a little out there, right? We’re not timid, here. With some clever photo cuts and copy slicing, our designers skillfully recast the original promotional poster as a nail-biting direct-mail card, complete with a foreboding message to the healthcare industry about the Final Rules, warning in fun, “They Won’t Stay Away!”

“We wrap a campaign in a concept, first. It’s how we approach every campaign, and it’s one of the things I think we do best,” says David Hubbard, leading the MDS creative team.

“We thought about the real uncertainty that people in the medical billing industry face … We chose classic scary imagery to capture [the anxiety], then used it in a fun way. It’s unexpected,” Hubbard says.

Our clients ran with the daring concept. And it worked. By show time, our unconventional approach sent the audience running to fill seats.

“We all hold our breaths when a mailing like this goes out the door. It’s exciting. With this campaign, we knew right away. The response was tremendous; from attendee to conference organizers… apparently everyone was talking about, really praising the campaign materials,” says Hubbard.



From the start, campaign daylight was scarce with conference deadlines looming. Our clients had little time and few opportunities to rescue medical-billing service providers from the daunting “Final Rules.” (The latest federal regulations are set to take effect in January, 2010.) We needed to develop campaign materials that would immediately grab attention and convey our clients’ message.

Fortunately, our creative team works well under pressure. We delivered the “Save Yourself from the Beast” postcard in-step with preconference mailings to reach out and grab thousands of medical professionals. Then our clients used campaign materials onsite to further promote their services, workshops and webinars.

In November, our concept-driven campaign materials—zombies and
all—helped drive potential customers to exhibit booths and fill workshop seats at the 33rd American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) conference, the 26th Annual Meeting of the Society for Radiation Oncology Administrators (SROA), and the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) 2009 conference.

Revenue Cycle Inc experienced high-volume traffic at its SROA and ASTRO exhibit booths, reported increased workshop attendance, and received positive feedback from conference attendees, as well as surprising praise from the conference organizer. And campaign momentum has extended beyond the exhibit floor. Our clients continue to receive calls and e-mails from attendees who carried campaign materials home with them.

MDS Advertising was also recognized with a 2009 International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA) Davey Award for the Revenue Cycle Inc/RC Billing campaign’s direct-mail card. The Silver Davey award helps affirm that our unconventional approach is delivering on its promise—that it’s building business for us, and for our clients. Even in a tough economy.

“Winning an award is unexpected, but it complements the feedback we get from our clients … that our concept-driven creative is what helps MDS stand apart from the rest,” says Hubbard.