Olmsted Medical Center Didn’t Play It Safe With Pelvis Party and That’s Why It Worked

Healthcare marketing often defaults to safety. Approved spokespeople. Carefully controlled environments. A standardized voice. But safety doesn’t connect with audiences—especially when the message involves something deeply personal, stigma, or a rarely discussed topic. In those cases, what protects the brand can distance the patient.

What This Conversation Revealed

• Trust accelerates when marketing extends existing relationships instead of manufacturing new ones
• Vulnerability from the organization changes what patients are willing to say out loud
• Internal buy-in often follows proof, not planning

What a Local Influencer Made Possible

Brittney Strum, Marketing and Business Relations Manager at Olmsted Medical Center (OMC), joined Swaay.Health to unpack how a partnership with a local influencer turned into a trusted podcast for women’s health conversations, named Pelvis Party, and how their successful journey is helping to the organization be more bold.

Strum didn’t go looking for an influencer to amplify a message. She was looking for a collaborative partner.

“What’s unique about Becky Montpetit [the local influencer OMC partnered with] is she already has a platform that she’s speaking from,” explained Strum. “We were already advertising on the platform. So we had that trusted relationship. Pelvis Party became an extension of that.”

Becky also had personal history with OMC.

“Because [Becky] had so many interactions with the health system, we have story after story after story that can be shared,” continued Strum. “She’s willing to share them because she really wants women to feel empowered about their healthcare journey.”

Since trust already existed with both the OMC brand, Becky’s personal brand, and the audience, the partnership felt less like a campaign and more like a continuation of credibility that had been building over time.

The tone of Pelvis Party – the podcast that was created by Strum, the OMC team, and Becky – was intentional. It mirrored the real-life conversations they were already having with friends about pelvic health.

“Sharing our own stories, while it’s very vulnerable, is important because when people see other people sharing their experiences, they’re more apt to listen,” said Strum. “I think it just takes a little bit of vulnerability and recurring messaging to reinforce that.”

By using choosing to show vulnerability on-camera, the podcast create speace for honest engagement. Audiences felt more comfortable talking about pelvic health – not just online, but with their physicians and friends.

According to Strum, Pelvis Party made it “okay” to talk about a sensitive topic. It showed audiences they were not alone and gave language to people who had questions but did not know how to voice them.

Pelvis Party launched quietly, without broad internal fanfare.

“In the beginning it was a pretty quiet initiative to see if it was going to work,” admitted Strum. “I was going to be ecstatic with anything over 5,000 views.”

They achieved that goal, but more the meaningful signal came from the community itself.

“I’ve heard anecdotal feedback from patients that have come into the clinic and shared with their clinician – ‘I saw this episode on Pelvis Party!’” said Strum.

Once the results and those stories became known, internal skepticism at OMC softened.

“Now that we’ve been doing this for a while and we’ve seen the results, Pelvis Party has become the buzzword internally. Now I have a line of people who want to be on the show.”

Strum is convinced that had OMC played it safe, launching a pelvic health campaign led exclusively by clinicians, it would not have achieved the same reach or resonance. In hindsight, the reason is clear.

Clinicians talk to the audience. Peers talk with them. That distinction determines how quickly trust is built.

By teaming up with an established and trusted local influencer, OMC delivered a message that felt familiar and credible. The low-key, “homemade” production style reinforced that Pelvis Party was create by, and for, the community it served.

This first chapter showed Strum and the OMC team that calculated risk can accelerate trust. With that foundation in place, Pelvis Party is now evolving in its next phase.

As Strum’s put it: “Just try it. Don’t be scared to try something or to push an idea forward that you think is going to work.”

Learn more about Olmsted Medical Center at https://www.olmmed.org/

Learn more about Pelvis Party at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pelvis-party/id1845746327