Taking the center to market.

Community mental health centers have seldom been involved in marketing their services. Marketing is defined as responding sensitively to human needs, not hucksterism, and is an appropriate activity for centers. Centers are vulnerable because of declining federal funding and in order to serve the poor, must also service other populations with greater ability to pay for services or face retrenchment. Over the past twenty years, locally controlled centers have broadened their missions to serve many types of personal and family problems, not just the chronically ill. Centers should omit "mental health" for their names because of the stigma. Guidelines for creation of a positive image including name and logo selection, color, open houses, and ad campaigns are given using Madison Center (formerly the Mental Health Center of St. Joseph County) as a case study. Reactions of other providers, creative delivery of services through consultation and education, market segmentation and message levels of advertising are also discussed.