Evaluation of an advertising method for a university family practice center

Advertising by physicians has become accepted by the public and is practically mandatory in today's competitive marketplace. This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a specific method of advertising a university family practice center by using fliers targeted to nearby neighborhoods. The fliers were inexpensive handbills describing the center's location and services, distributed to 23,000 households. Six months after distribution of the fliers, a randomized survey of 100 of these households was conducted to determine the fliers' success at increasing consumers' awareness of the center's location and altering consumers' attitudes and behavior concerning using the center's services. In 27% of the households, someone recalled receiving the flier. Half of these still had the fliers in their possession. Two thirds of those who remembered it thought the flier made them consider using the center, and half had called or visited the center. The results show that this technique was effective.