Something was missing when Jeff James became CEO of Wilmington Health Associates about two years ago.

“The first thing that I noticed was that there was not a cohesive message about who we are and what we do and that spurred market research,” he said.

The result is a rebranding campaign that communicates what the medical group practice is about.

The campaign will convey “who we are, what we do, where we’re going and why it’s important to health care in this market,” James said.

“(Patients) may have visited one of our providers but they didn’t realize the provider belonged to a much larger, integrated, sophisticated and technologically savvy organization,” he said.

The campaign was introduced in late July to the 100 member physicians, registered nurses and physician assistants of Wilmington Health Associates at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside. Starting about mid-August, the medical group will begin an advertising campaign using newspapers, television and outdoor billboards.

Focus groups made up of Wilmington Health Associates patients and non-patients living in the area recently conducted by a market research firm showed that few people have an accurate idea of the scope of the practice, or range of services it offers.

“What we discovered when we took a look at the organization through our patients’ eyes is we had a very mixed signal. No one knew what set us apart from other providers in the community,” James said.

The rebranding campaign will focus on “building a distinct brand” and will send the message that Wilmington Health Associates provides a “completely integrated” system of comprehensive health care at its 13 locations, James said.

Wilmington Health Associates retained Jones and Thomas, an Illinois public relations firm with experience in hospital marketing.

While Wilmington Health Associates has more than 25 departments offering a variety of medical specialties, James said it can’t readily be compared to the two largest local medical services providers: New Hanover Regional Medical Center and Novant Health, which operates Brunswick Community Hospital.

“We’re a little bit different from those organizations. Those are hospital-based and we are physician-based. They provide care on the hospital side and we provide care on the physician side,” James said.

The relationship is not necessarily competitive.

“They both have medical groups and that’s true in that regard, but we see, especially, New Hanover Regional Medical Center as a partner in the continuum of care,” James said.

In recent months, Wilmington Health Associates has brought in an orthopedic surgeon and other specialists, opened podiatry and pain management departments, and acquired existing practices. The medical group recently purchased two Med Care urgent care clinics in Wilmington and Jacksonville. The acquisition “helps with ease of access into our system,” James said.

Wilmington Health Associates also has an integrated electronic medical records system that allows physicians to quickly access a patients’ medical history.

The rebranding campaign will help get the word out about the range of services available at Wilmington Health Associates, James said. He said the market research results were surprising.

“Truthfully, health care reform would have led us to an integrated delivery system,” he said.  “But it helped us understand how the market perceived our brand and it helped lead us in this direction.”

Wilmington Health Associates was established in 1971 and averages 88,000 patients a year, with about 400,000 patient visits.