Today’s guest is Sean Tracey, the founder, CEO, and creative director of Sean Tracey Associates, a full service marketing and brand strategy firm located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I spoke with Sean because over the years his firm has worked extensively with healthcare organizations, helping them craft their internal and external brands and marketing strategies. In this podcast we talk in particular about his work with Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, but Sean has worked with a many other healthcare organizations including developing the Tufts Health Freedom Plan brand with Tufts Health and Granite Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Hartford Health. He is currently working with the newly formed North Country Healthcare, whose CEO, Warren West has been a previous guest on the Forge. Sean has also worked with large, national brands such as Sears and MasterCard.
This was a fun interview because Sean has done so many diverse and interesting things in his career, including being a jazz trumpeter, producing a TV show called, "The Best of New England", and making a feature length documentary called, “The Jesus Guy”.
One of the things I found most interesting was our conversation about leadership in an industry where most organizations are project-based, and teams may form for a day or many years, depending on the length of the project. We close on a discussion about developing a personal brand, which I think is particularly valuable for any professional to think about.
Links to the Podcast
Soundcloud:
Edited: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/sean-tracey-founder-ceo-and-creative-director-of-sean-tracey-associates-1
Full length: https://soundcloud.com/healthleaderforge/sean-tracey-founder-ceo-and-creative-director-of-sean-tracey-associates
Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-health-leader-forge
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/healthleaderforge/id981989377
YouTube: https://youtu.be/MkJSVvyBAwA
Podcast Outline (applies to full length interview)
0:02:11 education and background - philosophy and religion
0:04:39 electronic music
0:07:06 large scale installation sculptures - behavioral interactions
0:09:31 side career as a jazz pianist and trumpeter
0:10:57 transition to television, television production
0:12:09 starting Sean Tracey Associates - starting in production of commercials
0:13:41 interest in tae kwon do
0:17:33 how do the diverse influences come together - importance of interests
0:19:39 early career, documentary, "The Jesus Guy"
0:22:31 what it is like to make a documentary
0:24:16 how does financing work for documentary projects?
0:25:14 what makes a good story
0:28:06 knowing your audience
0:28:53 Commercial work (Advertising) vs. art
0:30:19 The evolution of STA to a full service advertising and marketing firm
0:35:26 learning to manage other aspects of the business - in addition to video
0:37:14 specializing in financial services and healthcare organizations
0:40:56 about STA - core organization, working within the "Hollywood Model" - project based
0:43:37 the importance of common understandings within the advertising and film market
0:47:30 reputation is everything
0:50:26 collecting names of talented people for work in the future
0:51:47 managing relationships with freelance talent
0:52:57 challenges of the temporary, project-based organization
0:53:28 from the client perspective - creating a relationship with an agency
0:57:16 benefits of working with a small agency vs. a large agency
0:59:03 understanding what a brand is
1:00:40 defining marketing
1:02:49 Branding Wentworth-Douglass Hospital - rebranding the HR department
1:05:11 internal vs. external marketing
1:06:28 describing the process of developing an internal brand
1:09:14 what the HR director wanted - a brand to recruit and retain the best talent
1:10:51 what do healthcare executives need to know about branding? What do they get wrong?
1:12:27 evolution of marketing - more complexity
1:14:07 looking forward for STA
1:15:28 managing big, fragile egos
1:17:46 leadership philosophy
1:19:56 what do you look for when bringing on a leader
1:20:32 what kind of culture does he try to create
1:21:40 what does a good mentor do
1:23:59 his experience as a mentor - with own staff, teaching
1:25:03 defining success - ongoing growth
1:25:50 advice on personal branding for early careerists
Topics Discussed:
Sean Tracey Associates
Albert Maysles
The Jesus Guy
Dr. David Shore, The Trust Prescription for Healthcare
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital
sample ad created by STA for Wentworth-Douglass Hospital
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