IP-controlled campaign was a success in Karolinska's recruitment work

Karolinska University Hospital's ECMO team saves the lives of patients suffering from acute life-threatening heart and lung problems. They are a unique asset in healthcare but need more staff. An IP-controlled campaign produced unexpectedly good results. "This has been invaluable for us", says Tanja Dobrosavljevic, administrative coordinator at the ECMO Centre.

ECMO is a modified heart/lung machine that oxygenates the blood and can be considered if the patient is expected to die within 24 hours under optimal conventional intensive care. Common reasons for ECMO treatment are septic shock, severe lung infection or acute lung and/or heart failure.

If the patient is too unstable for intensive care transport, the mobile ECMO team will go to the patient's hospital – in Sweden or Europe – start ECMO treatment in the intensive care unit and then take the patient to Stockholm for further care.

"We look after all patient groups – from newborns to adults and can convert a high mortality risk into an 80 per cent chance of survival. This makes us a world leader in our field. We are a "last chance" and are extremely proud of our department," says Tanja Dobrosavljevic, administrative coordinator at the ECMO Centre, Karolinska University Hospital.

What opened your eyes to IP-controlled advertising?  

"We were one of the first units to moved from the old Karolinska to the new Karolinska and were given nice new premises and an expanded task. This means that we have more beds, which means that we also need to appoint more nurses, but it is difficult to recruit intensive care nurses in general and for the ECMO Centre in particular, as our care is highly specialised".

"Since we had worked with Borg Owilli in the past, we turned to them for input on how we could reach out to the intensive care nurse sector in the very best way. We already had very good information films about what it means to work on our unit that we wanted to market effectively – to the right people. We understood that an IP-controlled campaign was exactly the right choice.

They chose to target the campaign at three different hospitals to arouse interest in ICU and anaesthetic nurses and the result, according to Tanja, has been absolutely fantastic. She says they have had more applicants for the positions than had been generated by any other previous advertisement.

"We saw an increase in traffic on both our Instagram and our website. In addition, several doctors and specialist doctors have contacted us. They want to do their Specialised Service Training at the ECMO Centre after they heard about us on the internet, which we interpret as having seen our banners.

The campaign has resulted in the ECMO Centre hiring three nurses in six months – in the midst of the pandemic. Usually, they take on one highly specialised nurse in six months.

"We have also seen that these jobs are directly linked to the fact that they have seen our banners, so it has been invaluable for us. Since the campaign has given such a good return, we have decided to extend it into 2021 and add five new hospitals. This is absolutely the best way to market yourself if you want to reach the right people with specific information.

What are your top tips for those who want to make the same investment as you?

"After the campaign had been running for two rounds, we noticed that the more personal our appeal was, the more noticeable the advertisement became. So use images and messages that are specific to you and which represent what you want to highlight. Recognition is also important. If you show a general picture of healthcare professionals, the recipient ignores it easily. Dare to use your own pictures. For us, it has increased both the number of clicks on the advertisement and further traffic.

How do you find collaborating with Borg Owilli?

Collaboration with Borg Owilli is absolutely fantastic! Erik Annerberg (Head of ABM) and Max Lauritzen (Senior Account Manager) are responsive and full of ideas and they get to know all our