Protecting the Duke brand across clinical affiliations
Brand protection across more than 100 clinical affiliations, with clear distinctions about what each Duke relationship means.
Challenge
Extending the Duke name across more than 100 clinical affiliations required careful distinctions about what each relationship meant. An affiliation could connect an independent organization with Duke expertise without making it a Duke-owned hospital. Branding had to communicate that relationship clearly and preserve the trust associated with the Duke name.
Approach
Our experience at Duke Health Affiliations and Networks included marketing and communications, brand governance, partner resources, and web and content strategy for a network of 14 hospitals and more than 100 specialty affiliations. The work treated brand extension as brand protection. Partner positioning, co-branding, and market-facing materials needed to reflect the actual scope of each affiliation. Patients and referring physicians needed to understand the connection to Duke, while partner teams needed guidance they could apply consistently.
Experience gained by our principal before founding TF & Partners.