AAFP Unveils Bold New Attitude, Actions

Paula Binder

doi:10.1370/afm.781

The AAFP, in a bid to be a bold champion for family physicians, is kicking off a 2-year, multimillion-dollar strategic initiative to represent members with assertive actions, forceful language, and a new brand identity to telegraph the change.

The initiative, which first launched during the AAFP’s Scientific Assembly in October, is meant to meet the advocacy needs of members. Family physicians are in crisis, and they want a champion in Washington and with insurers, employers, opinion leaders and the American public.

“The AAFP has always been a champion on behalf of its members and their patients,” said incoming AAFP President Jim King, MD, of Selmer, Tennessee. “Just as the practice of medicine changes constantly, the AAFP is always honing its efforts to communicate the value of family physicians. This new campaign expresses the AAFP’s commitment to play a central role in reforming the health care system for the benefit of all.”

In the past, members have said the Academy stood for great CME and great journals, said Donna Valponi, AAFP vice president for marketing, membership and meetings. “But starting 2 years ago, for the very first time, members elevated advocacy as being more important than the journals and CME. This was true regardless of the source of that information—member surveys, focus groups or other member interactions.”

The Academy’s new strategic initiative includes the following elements.

To signal its assertive new brand, the AAFP is replacing its seal—last updated in 1971—with a “bold champion” logo and a tagline, “Strong Medicine for America.” The logo features a version of the staff of Aesculapius, symbolic of medicine, and a torch, symbolic of life, knowledge, principle, and leadership (Figure 1⇓).
The Academy will undertake a $5 million strategic advertising campaign highlighting the importance of family medicine in health care reform. The campaign debuted in the October 5, 2007 issues of USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Other ads will appear through October 2008 in media outlets including in the Washington Post, National Journal, Congressional Quarterly publications, Forbes, Fortune, XM Satellite Radio, National Public Radio, CNN.com, and ABCNews.com.
Through the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, the Academy will facilitate a medical home symposium for policy-makers, purchasers and employers in late 2007. The Academy’s Robert Graham Center in Washington is synthesizing research on the power of the medical home to improve care and hold down costs. A report will be released at the symposium.
Health care consumers will be invited to advocate family medicine’s interests and issues through an e-advocacy action center on the AAFP’s award-winning consumer Web site, familydoctor.org. More than 3 million visitors come to familydoctor.org each month.
A national spokesperson, recruited from the ranks of well-known and well-respected Americans, will serve as the public face of the campaign to implement the medical home, overall health system reform and physician payment reform.