Could the veterinary breakroom be your most overlooked marketing channel?
The breakroom is where people gather to talk, eat, and laugh. It’s not a place for sales representatives or continuing education, but it is where some of the most meaningful interpersonal connections happen in the veterinary clinic.
Is your brand present in the breakroom? Most B2B veterinary marketers will say “no” because most brands simply aren’t making a splash in this private space. The breakroom presents an opportunity to bring some fun to your marketing campaigns and create content that lingers and spreads naturally.
In this blog, we’ll discuss six fun and organic ways to help your brand be part of the breakroom buzz.
#1 High-Value Functional Items
Before we dive into the fun ways to earn your place in the breakroom, here are some easy, more traditional ways to improve your visibility:
- Magnets with essential information
This may include customer support information, QR codes that direct scanners to quick re-order links, emergency reference information, product serial numbers, or other key information that could be useful during a customer support call.
- Calendars
Branded calendars provide clinics with utility year-round and have a 12-month shelf life. Customize the calendar with value-adding information that ties back to your product to connect the everyday reference point to your brand.
- Posters
These can provide helpful information such as drug dosing, toxicity reminders, anesthesia safety tips, etc. Or, to level up the fun, create meme-like content that blends in well with the breakroom vibe and turns your brand into a daily talking point.
#2 Conversation-Sparking Fun
If you want your brand to be a topic of conversation during downtime, you need to fit into the flow of what the team does in the breakroom. Use these idea starters to lighten up your next campaign.
- Crossword puzzles
Create a physical crossword puzzle that includes concepts related to your product. These can make a nice monthly or quarterly giveaway. Eventually, you can even bind them into a book for conference giveaways.
- Trivia games
Share these with clinics either as physical trivia cards or trivia sheets. They’re bound to make it onto the breakroom table and provide some competitive fun while the team has lunch.
- Seasonal staff games
Pet-themed March Madness brackets, Easter egg hunts, and summer-themed bingo can drive engagement from the entire veterinary team.
- Cartoon posters
Provide funny cartoon posters depicting relatable vetmed scenes to show veterinary teams that you understand what a day in their lives looks like.
- VetWords
Looking for a turnkey way to level up your brand’s fun? Sponsor a Clinician’s Brief VetWords game. You might not be physically in the breakroom, but teams love to compete in (and talk about) the daily VetWords challenge.
#3 Breakroom Swag
Every veterinary professional can agree that they love swag. From loading up a tote bag at a conference to entering an online giveaway, swag is coveted and has staying power. Leverage it outside of conferences to make your way into the breakroom conversation.
- Branded snacks
Send, or drop off, snacks and treats with your brand name on them. From popcorn to custom-branded coffee, you can get super creative.
- Inexpensive drinkware
Branded coffee mugs and plastic cups are much more affordable than you might think. A $1.75 branded coffee mug will stay in the breakroom for years to come, reminding your customers and prospects of you with each invigorating sip. Drinkware can have funny VetMed jokes or references to drive even more engagement.
- Koozies
Even if these get stolen from the breakroom in favor of being used at home for after-hours beverages, they are a great conversation starter. They’ll make their way to backyard BBQs, tailgates, and graduations. Put funny sayings or cartoons on them, and they’ll become powerful conversation starters.
- Coffee machines
These are not inexpensive giveaways, but they can be used to incentivize demos, or you can hold a drawing to select just a few winners. If you do install a coffee machine in a clinic, don’t forget to find a way to brand it so that patients remember you every morning (and afternoon) when they enjoy their break with your brand.
- Ice cube trays
Custom-branded ice cube trays are a fun and affordable way for your brand to float around in the drinks of every staff member.
#4 Simple, Shareable Items
Giveaways don’t have to be expensive to have the ability to stick around the clinic. Use these easy and affordable ideas to earn your brand a place in the breakroom and beyond.
- Stickers or pins
Go for meme-worthy stickers that integrate concepts related to your product for a crowd-pleaser. Buttons or brass pins also have good staying power around the clinic.
- Notepads, sticky notes, and pens
These clinical essentials are always welcome and are spread throughout the clinic, from exam rooms to the breakroom. These inexpensive items are also great for conference giveaways.
- Clipboard
Branded clipboards are inexpensive and offer a larger surface area for spreading your brand message. Make sure whatever you decorate them with is pet-owner-friendly since these coveted swag items tend to make their way around the clinic, including in the sight of pet owners.
- “Buttons”
If you ever worked in an office with a “that was easy button” you know how a silly button can somehow make in into the office culture. Consider making a custom sound-making button to bring some levity to the everyday hustle and bustle.
#5 Drop-In Strategies
Inviting a sales representative into the hospital when they come bearing gifts is always more exciting. Use these ideas to develop drop-in gift campaigns that correspond with your broader marketing plans:
- Branded seasonal items
This could include chapstick, sunscreen, hand lotion, hot chocolate packets, bandanas, sunglasses, tote bags, and hand sanitizer.
- Holiday-themed items
Get the staff feeling festive with custom-brand candy hearts (with funny vet med sayings, of course), Halloween treats (complete with client handouts about holiday safety), or pet-shaped holiday cookies.
- Industry awareness themed items
Veterinary industry awareness events are a great time to create buzzworthy clinic content. Create a fun and engaging game for the team to play during National Veterinary Technician Week, drop off pet owner toxicity handouts for distribution during Pet Poison Awareness Week, and bring in a funny poster during Practice Manager Appreciation Week.
- Clinic contests
Host quarterly clinic contests to drive engagement with your sales reps and brand. These could be giveaways, contests to engage pet owners, or even contests to increase social media followers.
#6 Share the Love with Your VIP Customers
Yes, direct mail can be expensive, but sharing the love with your VIP customers is worth it. Developing high-end swag boxes for customers keeps your brand at the forefront of the whole team's mind.
- Fleeces or vests
Consider co-branding these with your logo and the clinic’s for maximum impact.
- Branded stethoscopes
Put your logo on a stethoscope to stay top of mind in the exam room every day.
- Scrubs
When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with scrubs!
Best Practices for Breakroom Friendly Content
- Keep it functional, fun, or consumable.
- We’re not trying to sell with breakroom content; we’re trying to connect and show that we understand the life of a veterinary professional.
- Integrate this content into your annual marketing plans to make sure you have the budget, that it’s refreshed at least quarterly, and that it isn’t pushed off as a nice-to-have instead of a core part of the marketing plan.
- Think about shareability and the capability of the item to produce buzz around the clinic. Don’t be afraid to step out of the box.
- Have fun, this is your brand’s opportunity to shine and demonstrate that you “get” your audience.
Let’s Get Started Connecting
Breakrooms are micro-communities inside a veterinary hospital. Make sure you’re part of the conversation. Experiment with one tactic and expand your strategy once you see what works best for your brand.
The Clinician’s Brief team can help you find the perfect prospects to engage with your swag campaigns. Contact us today to brainstorm ways to connect with your ideal prospects to bring your brand to the breakroom.