Over twenty years ago, a surprising new phenomenon appeared in the world of advertising and promotion.

The game was for plans to sign up the most participants, the fastest. To gain share and then hold it as corporations and consumers shopped for more savings or better coverage.

The situation was ideally suited to Mintz & Hoke's approach to marketing communications. We had learned the key to motivating consumers to go beyond awareness and take action was buried a layer or two below where most market research stopped. We penetrated to the underlying issues - the hopes and dreams, but also the biases and frustrations, that caused a consumer to pick one product or service over another.

We sorted out the conflicted feelings people had toward insurance. The specifics of these feelings would tend to change from year to year. Yet by honing in on the specific underlying issues, and responding with a plan's specific benefits and distinguishing characteristics, we were able to help many healthcare providers and insurers dramatically improve the size and quality of their membership rolls.

We're still in constant touch with every constituency in the healthcare field:  consumers and providers, benefits managers and caregivers, producers, agents, brokers, wholesalers, insurers and insureds. Attitudes and behaviors naturally evolve during this time. Markets shift, models come and go.

What never changes is the power of our process and creative messages to change both attitude and behavior as to how people buy, sell, embrace or reject insurance.