California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists - “The Source”
The Challenge
The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) is an independent professional organization representing the interests of licensed marriage and family therapists (MFTs).
CAMFT came to Wilkin Guge, because it wanted to change the public’s misperception that marriage and family therapists only provide counsel for marriage and family-related issues, when, in actuality, marriage and family therapists are trained to help patients address a variety of serious issues, including addiction, depression and compulsive disorders, among others. To better serve its members, CAMFT’s marketing team also wanted to increase by 15% the number of California consumers who used its online directory, www.TherapistFinder.com, as a resource to locate marriage and family therapists.
The Approach
To refine CAMFT’s brand and increase utilization of TherapistFinder.com as a referral source and educational service, Wilkin Guge Marketing reviewed CAMFT’s primary research from past marketing surveys and from Psychology Today’s 2004 “Therapy in America” survey. The research was helpful during brainstorming sessions to identify the consumer’s needs, desires and behaviors about mental health and redesign TherapistFinder’s brand identity. Once Wilkin Guge identified CAMFT’s primary target audience, insured Caucasian and African-American women over the age of 40, it developed an integrated consumer campaign which included a radically redesigned Web site marketed through an aggressive and creative public relations campaign that included strategic PSAs in the demographic-rich Greater Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas.
Wilkin Guge’s customized campaign positioned TherapistFinder.com as California’s best online resource for locating qualified MFTs and educating California residents that MFTs provide counsel in more than just marriage and family therapy.
The Results
Wilkin Guge increased the number of searches on TherapistFinder.com by 49% through Web site calls-to-action, well exceeding its targeted goal of 15%. In the second half of 2006, TherapistFinder.com had 115,462 more unique visitors to its site than in all of 2005. In addition, the WGM public relations team secured several regular feature stories and columns about CAMFT and its members in local, regional and trade publications, providing expert advice and further driving awareness of the services MFTs provide Californians.
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