Ad campaign spotlights Tulane partnership that is making NOLA a healthcare destination
From the airport baggage claim to prominent intersections across New Orleans, a new advertising campaign is putting Tulane University’s medical expertise — and its partnership with LCMC Health — front and center.
The campaign, one of the largest institutional advertising efforts Tulane has ever undertaken, is designed to show the public what the partnership offers the city and the region: a major research enterprise, nationally recognized physicians and an academic approach that connects discoveries in Tulane laboratories and classrooms to patient care.
“This campaign highlights the progress we’ve made in a short time and shows what academic medicine makes possible when research, education and clinical expertise come together for our patients,” said Lee Hamm, senior vice president and dean of Tulane University School of Medicine.
“Since our partnership with LCMC Health began, we’ve been aligning our strengths to improve how and where we deliver care, while advancing the education and training of our future physicians and scientists,” Hamm said.
The campaign comes as the partnership between Tulane and LCMC Health, first announced in 2022, continues to deliver innovative, breakthrough treatments.
This past year, the partnership yielded a number of historic healthcare “firsts” including the Gulf South’s first functionally cured sickle cell patient, Louisiana’s first gene therapy for hemophilia, the region’s first minimally invasive lung cancer treatment using microwaves, and other pioneering treatments in urology and ocular oncology.
Showing what “academic medicine” means for patient care was the starting point of the campaign, according to Carmen Sarduy, Tulane’s associate vice president of marketing.
The ad also emphasizes Tulane’s long history of medical education, research and patient care. Its messages include “Built for breakthroughs,” “Backed by Tulane” and “Better care means taking a closer look.”
Together, the advertisements convey how Tulane physicians and researchers pursue answers to complex medical questions and how their work can lead to better diagnoses, treatments and outcomes for patients across the LCMC Health system, including East Jefferson General Hospital, Lakeside Hospital, Manning Family Children’s, University Medical Center, Lakeview Hospital, Touro, West Jefferson Medical Center and New Orleans East Hospital.
The advertising initiative also establishes a distinct visual identity, featuring researchers and physicians intensely focused on their work.
The tone is similar to an athletic campaign featuring elite competitors preparing to perform at the highest level. The physicians appear serious and determined, reflecting the concentration and expertise they bring to research and patient care.
The campaign’s messaging can now be seen on billboards and other outdoor displays throughout the New Orleans area, including near Tulane’s downtown campus and along well-traveled routes across the city. The campaign also has a major presence at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, with advertisements on vertical displays and around the baggage claim area.
Additional advertisements will focus on East Jefferson General Hospital and Tulane’s history in medicine. The campaign will extend across traditional and digital media, with television spots also planned.
Developing the campaign required close coordination among Tulane’s marketing team, university leadership, Tulane Medicine, LCMC Health and East Jefferson General Hospital.
A landing page expands on the advertising messages and directs visitors to stories about Tulane research and medical advances. Future storytelling will illustrate academic medicine in practice by highlighting the researchers, physicians and discoveries behind the campaign and will help patients and other audiences understand more deeply how Tulane’s research mission strengthens the care available in the New Orleans region.