Way more than pay and perks… it’s about the journey

Did you know there are ER nurses, X-ray techs, and other healthcare professionals who criss-cross the nation, vying for 13-week positions, simply because they love to explore? We didn’t… until we met Focus. In their industry space, no single player stands out. It’s a plain vanilla world. So for Focus Staff—David facing the industry Goliaths—the question was: how can we show we’re different, better?

But let’s rewind the story a bit. We began this assignment as we begin most: with research. We interviewed and surveyed healthcare travelers and recruiters. Lots of them. A handful had heard of Focus; the vast majority, not.

We needed to understand how they truly felt about the travel healthcare experience—what makes some staffing companies awesome… others awful. What prevents them from signing with one, but sticking with another.

What we found was, typically, it came down to who offered the best pay/benefits package at the particular time they were ending one assignment and getting ready for the next. We observed no loyalty or preference for one recruiting company or another.

Their decisions are purely pragmatic. This realization led us to believe that only a bold approach would work. And Focus’ brave CEO bought into that and allowed us to take his company “down to the studs” and rebuild.

His only caveat was: hands off the name. Otherwise, we were given total strategic and creative freedom. Freedom that empowered us to undertake a complete transformation of the brand. From the flag logo suggesting that Focus’ travelers could (metaphorically) land in each “new world,” lay claim to it by planting their flag there—to revamping the sales compensation model from an aggressive, numbers-based one; to a concierge-like, traveler satisfaction-based model.

As we worked through strategy and brand ideation, a design system emerged that was bold but not austere, playful but not silly. We paired contrasty new teal and charcoal color scheme with photos that show a sense of real-life authenticity. Unlike the competition, not every photo would be of bright blue lagoons and white-sand beaches.

Finally, because no new venture can succeed today without a killer website, we created a new, über-responsive, Salesforce®-powered website for Focus that combines exceptional job matching functionality with a platform that effectively tells the Focus Staff brand story.


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