Moroco Orthodontics on How to Raise the Industry Standard with Branding and Promotional Products

Maggie McCafferty is the Marketing Coordinator at Moroco Orthodontics, a community mainstay operating in South Florida for over 20 years. Helmed by Dr. Jacqueline Moroco Maloney, the business moved to a new office in Delray Beach about five years ago. Refreshed by a brand new work environment, Moroco Orthodontic’s brand, “MO,” was brightened and enhanced to great success.

With the help of some fun and sticky promotional products, Moroco Orthodontics enjoys high visibility and organic referrals through families and friends in the surrounding area. We had the chance to catch up with Maggie to learn of her opinions on the importance of branding, and how your business can reap the benefits of doing it right.

“The game is changing. You have to seek out the best.”

Dr. Moroco opened her practice in 1998, and you can be sure a lot has changed since then. “There’s a trend in the dental industry recently,” Maggie muses, “of offices stepping up their branding to a level that’s never been before, with a higher experience level for patients. You don’t just go to the neighborhood dentist anymore, you have to seek out who’s going to provide the best care and have a better looking office.”

With plain wallpaper, outdated technology, and sterile waiting rooms, dentists and orthodontists are known for having poorly decorated office spaces. Their bland appearance does nothing to excite returning patients or attract new clientele. When so many businesses are designed to fit in, it takes just a little effort to stand out. So that’s exactly what Moroco Orthodontics decided to do.

“If you haven’t rebranded or done anything with your marketing/branding in years, you need to address it – period.”

“You go into so many doctors’ offices and you’re sitting there going ‘Where am I? Am I in the ‘70s right now?’” Maggie laughs. “It makes you not want to tell people about it. You not only have to be the best doctor in your area, you have to look the best.”

Good marketing starts with creating a memorable first impression, so when it came time to rebrand, MO had no reservations in selecting a standout color. “Essentially,” Maggie says, “we’ve taken orange to a new level!” Knowing there are a lot of blues in dentistry, MO opted for a loud color that would be visually stimulating. Because that color orange plays in all of their branding, people in the community now associate the color with the MO brand. Between their promotional products and participation in local events, Moroco Orthodontics ensures that their brand is seen all over.

How to Choose Gifts and Branded Items to Promote Your Business and Events

Especially for local businesses, branding can have a profound effect on your mission, operations, and customer relations. But that can only happen if you’re in the field, playing against your competitors. Maggie says, “If your competition is killing it and you’re seeing them everywhere and not seeing yourself anywhere, you need to look inside and understand that you need to be doing more and putting yourself out more in the community.”

Over the years, Dr. Moroco has been highly engaged within her community and has experimented with a number of marketing and branding initiatives. She’s seen what’s worked and what hasn’t, and continues to try new and different promotional efforts to keep MO top-of-mind in the Delray Beach area.

Here are just a couple of tips that Maggie shared through her experiences in using giveaway items to supplement their advertising efforts:

Go with the Flow: Maggie notes that success is always dependent on what’s popular and what people are using. One example of this is drawstring bags that kids in the Delray Beach community like to carry. They use them for stashing their gear for overnight trips and after-school sports, so MO started using branded bags about two years ago. The company has found that they remain incredibly popular, and continue to use them as gifts for new patients.

Engage People with Fun Activities: It was when Dr. Moroco came to Maggie with an idea three years ago, excitedly recalling “I remember when I was a kid, radio stations used to say, ‘Hey call the station if you see our magnet on somebody’s car and you’ll win something’!” They placed an order of customized magnets and called the challenge “Spot the dot,” styling the “O” in “MO” as the dot. This inexpensive idea took off like wildfire. “What’s really funny is that every other orthodontist in the Palm Beach county has now taken to it. We thought we would bring it to ortho and now all these offices are doing it, which is really fun!”

Invest in Your Audience’s Interests: When the American Girl Fashion Show first came to their area a few years ago, Maggie knew that a lot of their younger patients would be there. In catering to their interest in these toys, MO decided to buy hundreds of branded hair bands for the girls to keep on their wrists – and to share with their dolls. “That kind of struck a match, because now we carry them in our office and all the girls that come here are constantly grabbing our hair ties. And I’ll get calls from people or I’ll be talking to people out and about and they will have them on their wrists that don’t even come here. It’s just been spread around!”

Opt for Products That Travel: A huge focus of MO’s promotional efforts is visibility – whatever the team purchases, they understand that those items will be seen out in the community. Any sort of travel items, from water bottles and coffee mugs, to the drawstring bags and hair ties, are all good for taking on the go. Whether at the office or out at an event, the team also always has pencils on hand for the kids to take to school, and pens for the adults to take home or throw in their bag when out running errands.

Branding Plays a Huge Role in Local Visibility

When asked about the benefits of their promotional marketing and branding efforts, Maggie agrees she has certainly seen a great return on cost. Their branding and outreach within the community has spiked word-of-mouth mentions and referrals. Says Maggie, “People see our dots on cars and they see the orange and they’re immediately going ‘Oh, is that Moroco?’ It’s funny because when people are finally at a point in their life where they want braces or Invisalign, or they need it for their kids, they say ‘Oh my God, I’ve been seeing them for years!’ So that’s how you know it’s working.”

Although patients love to chat, not everybody will remember to tell their friends and family about their positive experiences at MO’s office. Nevertheless, when new patients visit for the first time, many are stunned. “I didn’t realize five of my best friends are going to you guys!” Maggie mimics. “I think that branding plays a huge role – with the color and the ‘MO,’ we try and be everywhere.”

Thanks to Maggie and for Dr. Moroco for sharing their promotional tips and methodologies! MO’s story is truly one of branding success, and ePromos is glad that customized products have helped them achieve such great exposure throughout their community.