Our “WHY” Behind MyChiroPractice
In early 2008, both my brother Kevin and I were suffering with back and neck pain – although mine was considerably worse. We were taking medication for pain relief, acid reflux, allergies, and migraine headaches – and were on the brink of taking heart palpitation and anxiety medication too. At age 36, it seemed like we had more health issues than an 80 year old grandparent.
Later that year – in late July – I decided to finally do something about my back pain… and somehow managed to find my way into an orthopedic surgeon’s office. Without a single X-Ray, CT scan, or physical exam, the doctor recommended “experimental” spine surgery. While sitting on that cold aluminum table with my open back gown, I insisted, “Doc… how can you tell I need surgery if you haven’t even run your hand down my spine, or take an X-Ray?” to which he replied, “it doesn’t matter… we would still have to get you in for surgery… we will do the imaging at the hospital at that time.”
His office floors were imported white Italian marble… and his office manager offered me “sparkling” Perrier or “still” Avion water. They had a huge shark tank spanning the length of the 30 foot waiting room with 5 hammer heads and 3 tiger sharks. And the doctor was wearing a white coat, with matching Salvatore Ferragamo tie, belt and shoes – so in my mind, HE was the real deal.
I couldn’t sleep a wink on the night of August 12th. I was dreading getting out of bed at 4:45am and leaving for the hospital that morning. The surgery was scheduled at 8:00am, but I had to check-in ahead of time to take care of the pre operation rituals. At 4:00am, I chickened out. I called the doctor’s answering service and canceled. Then turned off my phone, because I knew the next 3 or 4 hours I was going to get bombarded with angry phone calls.
Now what?
My brother Kevin told me that I had to find another solution, now that I had canceled the surgery. And so I took to Google for a few hours. I typed in “alternative to back surgery” and “back pain relief”, etc. in the search bar. Aside from WebMD and local orthopedic surgeons, there were a bunch of chiropractic listings, too.
But one after another, the chiropractic websites disappointed me. I kept on seeing the same cookie-cutter website design over and over again… but with a different uninspired logo or color scheme. The same happy caucasian family stock photo running on the beach whether the office was in Newport Beach, or inland in Anaheim.
And they all read like a used car advertisement piece, with a gimmicky $29, $49, or $99 price tag. None of the chiropractic websites (or brands) I saw portrayed value or trust. I though to myself, “what the hell have I gotten myself into?”
My last search of the day before considering calling back my orthopedic surgeon and apologizing was out of pure boredom. I typed in my last name, “Javid” and put the word “chiropractor” next to it. One last random search before I called it quits. But to my surprise, a website popped up 8.5 miles away in Costa Mesa, CA, with a Dr. Nona Djavid working there as an associate.
The colors on the website were unique, clean and modern. The logo / brand exuded hope, value, and professionalism. The wording was written with compassion, strength, and hope. There were no gimmicky countdown clocks, no intrusive videos, and no $29 first-time offers. No over-promising, and no over-selling. Just a beacon of hope that people like me would like to explore.
And so I did.
I got a same-day appointment with Dr. Nona Djavid. She went through a 45 minute long exam, complete with x-rays and posture analysis. She touched my spine, explained why I was in pain, and why my health was going down the drain. She talked about corrective chiropractic care (specifically Chiropractic BioPhysics) and it all made sense!
After my 3rd or 4th session, I remember getting emotional in the car while driving away from her office. I cried because I couldn’t believe how much pain I was living with, and how much I felt better. I was amazed that I had Mexican food the night before, and didn’t take any GERD medication to calm down my acid reflux – because I didn’t have any. As the weeks passed and we got through more and more sessions, I stopped taking drugs because I was no longer in need of them.
Two great things came out of this experience.
- I married Dr. Nona Djavid
- Kevin and I made it our mission and purpose to help chiropractors A) elevate their image, and B) find better, non-intrusive, non-salesy ways to spread the chiropractic message of hope
As designers and creative directors with an 18 year long experience working with Fortune500 companies, and the backing of focus group research data, as well as a burning passion to turn people onto chiropractic care, everything we create for chiropractors is with love and purpose.
From logos, branding, and marketing material, to educational TV slideshows and chiropractic posters, we get our inspiration from those dark days of 2008… making sure each piece of design we create speaks to the subconscious of the hopeless person who is looking for that beacon of hope.
Let’s face it… sales pitches only work for a handful of people. But implanting the seed of trust and hope in society’s subconscious through subtle and calculated visual attributes changes the consciousness of the masses over time.