Branding
Mayo Clinic logo
Mayo Clinic prided itself on being patient-centered. Every employee knew the clinic’s core value, “the needs of the patient come first,” and its structures supported that value.
Although its medical school and its research laboratories went back to the early years of the clinic, the institutional culture focused on patient care as the priority. The organization's logo, three interlocking shields, represented education, research, and clinical practice, with practice in the center.
Mayo's service focus combined with its excellent patient outcomes produced a powerful brand. By the 1920s, Mayo had become a destination hospital for patients and doctors from around the country. In 1924 new train service was required to accommodate the heavy passenger traffic from Minneapolis to Rochester, in 1928 The New York Times published long feature articles on the construction of a major new clinic building, and in 1934 President Roosevelt visited Rochester and paid tribute to the Mayo brothers.
A 1969 Wall Street Journal article, one of numerous stories about Mayo that have appeared in the national media since the 1920s.
Following the death of the Mayo brothers in 1939, Mayo Clinic continued to expand in size and prestige. By the 1960s, patients were coming to the clinic from all 50 states and from almost every country in the world. A 1969 front-page feature article in The Wall Street Journal asked, "What is there about the Mayo Clinic that makes so many people--the famous and the obscure alike--think it's the best place to go for medical care?" and it cited Johnny Carson, Billy Graham, and King Feisal of Saudi Arabia as famous patients.1
During the 1980s and 90s, Mayo extended its brand with phone consultation services such as "Mayo Clinic Lifestyle Coaching" and "Ask Mayo Clinic" and with reference works such as Mayo Clinic Health Letter and the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book. In the 1980s new campuses were opened in Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale, Az., and in the 1990s a regional network of clinics and small hospitals was established. In 2008 a major study of Mayo Clinic called it "one of the most powerful service brands in the world." 2