American College of Cardiology
Retooling a world renowned cardiology certification program with the ACC.
Scroll ↓
CREATIVE DIRECTION • COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY • DESIGN • COPYWRITING
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) needed to modernize how cardiovascular physicians maintain certification.
For decades, their only option was a grueling, once-a-decade exam from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) — a model widely criticized as time-consuming, stressful, and out of step with practice. In response, ACC partnered with ABIM to launch the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway (CMP): an annual, specialty-focused assessment paired with world-class learning materials.
The program offered a smarter, more flexible model — but awareness was low, skepticism was high, and ACC faced a looming competitive threat. ABIM was preparing to launch its own “Longitudinal Assessment,” positioned as simple and convenient. With just six months to build momentum, ACC needed to shift perceptions, drive enrollment, and secure market share before ABIM’s rollout.
We built a campaign that reframed CMP not just as an alternative, but as the gold standard for continual learning in cardiology. Our proposed messaging centered on three distinct ideas:
The Rhythm of Continual Learning – learning as a natural cadence in a physician’s career.
On Your Time – flexible and convenient, designed to fit real schedules.
Test Yourself. Invest in Yourself. – positioning certification as an investment in professional growth and better patient care.
Our client was so happy with the three messaging territories, they decided to move forward with all of them, and to leverage them in a phased approach over the following years.
We helped set the ACC team up for success with templates and guidelines to leverage their full marketing ecosystem including: targeted email, direct outreach, paid and organic social, print and digital advertising, and high-visibility touchpoints at live and virtual events. Throughout, we leaned on ACC’s reputation as the global leader in cardiovascular education — and on powerful proof points like the 94% of CMP participants who planned to continue after their first experience.
