BACKGROUND

Maple is Canada's largest virtual-care service provider. Virtual-care, also known as telemedicine and telehealth, is the delivery of medical services over the internet or phone. It's any situation in which you communicate with a healthcare provider remotely, rather than in-person.

Open 24-7, the Maple platform connects patients with a pre-vetted doctor by video, instant message or phone. https://www.getmaple.ca/

TASK

Read the attached article and review the out-of-home ads at the end of the article that supported the launch of Maple. Answer the questions below.

Part I - play the role of the client (Maple)

• Creative Brief
  • Develop a possible creative brief that Maple may have written to brief their agency.
  • Use the Vespa creative brief from week 3 for format/guidance. (14 marks)

Part II - play the role of the agency

• Creative Strategy
  • Review the two ads at the end of the article. What message appeal & tactical considerations did Maple's agency use to communicate the message? Explain your answer. (4 marks)

Overall communications (2 marks)

Where the doctor is always in: Maple takes virtual care into the mainstream

Adapted from Rosalind Stefanac, Special to Financial Post. Dec. 16, 2020.https://financialpost.com/entrepreneur/where-the-doctor-is-always-in-maple-takes-telehealth-into-the-mainstream.

Update: Colin Hung. Maple anticipated the decline in telehealth and expects to continue growing. July 22, 2022.

https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2022/07/22/maple-anticipated-the-decline-in-telehealth-and-expects-to-continue-growing/

The virtual healthcare market has grown considerably in Canada over the past six years. The covid pandemic has obviously contributed to this growth and many Canadians are now comfortable connecting with their doctors via computer screen or smartphone.

Toronto-based Maple Corp is a Canadian healthcare success story. Founded in 2015, the company has grown steadily and is now the country's largest telehealth/virtual-care service provider.

Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Maple platform promises to connect patients with a pre-vetted general practitioner or specialist by video, instant message or phone call in two minutes or less. The platform currently has more than two million users, along with some 1,500 physicians who work as much or as little as they choose (they're paid a fee for service per consultation).

Maple chief executive Dr. Brett Belchetz said a half-dozen doctors across the country reach out to join the network on any given day, with another 600 GPs on the wait list to be added as need builds.

"We've seen phenomenal rates of patient satisfaction in virtual-care visits ... and it's a no-brainer as to why," he said. "Maple offers convenience - they don't have to travel across town or miss half a day of work, and can comfortably see a doctor from the comfort of home or work with none of the risks of infection you'd have in the waiting room."

Leading into the pandemic, Maple was growing at 10 to 15 per cent month over month in terms of revenue and usage. But between February and April of 2020, revenues tripled as physician offices and medical centres were forced to shut down.

"Since then, we've returned back to a more sustainable pace of growth, but we're still meeting sales and usage targets in 2020 that we weren't expecting to reach for several years," said Belchetz, who started the company in 2015 with co-founders Stuart Starr and Roxana Zaman, after working as a consultant and ER doctor (he can still be seen in the ER sometimes). "We've seen massive adoption of virtual care and I'd be shocked if things went back."

The C.D. Howe Institute agrees, noting in a new report, Canada's Virtual Care Revolution: A Framework for Success, that the pandemic has forced mass adoption of virtual care years ahead of schedule. The authors of the report released in December expect virtual care will be "a mainstay of clinical care in the future," provided the financial and regulatory support is there from providers and government.

One surprise for Belchetz has been how much their solution has helped people struggling with sexual health (sexually transmitted infections (STIs), contraception, erectile dysfunction, etc.).

Based on feedback from Maple users, Belchetz and his team have learned that some patients have avoided going to their doctor for months or even years. "They are too embarrassed to go into their doctor's office," said Belchetz. Maple's service and platform gave them the access to care in the privacy of their own home.

https://www.getmaple.ca/