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Human purpose is the catalyst for better healthcare communications

How creativity helps providers, patients and carers

The rate of medical discovery is increasing exponentially, technologies that previously existed only in science fiction are now a reality, and the vast potential of data has finally been unlocked. The future of healthcare is exciting, and patient outcomes will improve. But by how much and how far will be based on our work as a creative community. The reality of the best and most advanced treatments making their way to patients across the globe depends on our ability to raise awareness, drive education and ensure universal adoption.

Not long ago, we were suffocated by #BadPharma and the historic conduct of our industry. We were guilty of championing our pills, our commercial success, our self-importance. As such, we were dismissed by the brightest creative talent, who instead chose to advertise the latest fashions, lifestyles, must-haves.

During the last decade, we have made incredible progress to change the behaviors, philosophies and ambitions of the pharma community, and as such, external perceptions. Human purpose is our priority, making a meaningful difference the catalyst to attract the most empathetic, the most passionate and the most brilliant creatives to our cause. Those who deny tradition, champion change and demand more.

Our job is to transform healthcare professionals (HCPs) into innovators, so they are the rule versus the exception. Ensure patients are educated and engaged—activists for their own health and that of others. Help unpaid carers to become project managers of care and the champions their loved ones need.

Every year, we see tens of thousands of HCPs retire to be replaced with a new breed of digital natives. For millennial HCPs, scientific knowledge remains the foundation of their profession. But as you would expect, their ability to use technology has transformed how they operate. The concept of learning via a textbook is now archaic, yet some of the best science is still hidden behind overwhelming reports, publications and data. To better support HCPs in this world, we need to leverage the latest technologies to ensure that for the right patient, at the right time, they have the right information. We also need to recognize the evolution in their characteristics. Today’s physician is more open to collaboration, many of them now harbor entrepreneurial tendencies, and, like wider society, they are visually conditioned. As we learned at Cannes, pharma can no longer celebrate our creativity, we need to deliver creativity for good powered by human purpose.

As part of my research series, I published a white paper Smiles That Save Lives, which explores the vital role of creativity on the subjective well-being of patients. Google discusses winning the moments that matter, and we need to do the same in healthcare. We need to make sure patients feel supported in the broadest sense, and that they are part of their solution. Engaged and empowered patients are the influencers. They are the heart of the community and broader crowd. They are critical in the credibility and cascade of information to the global community. For too long we have failed to connect with many of our patients. The clichéd smiling patient has been the easy solution. Today we must build partnerships at an emotional level, with understanding, empathy and human insight.

The third group we must consider is the “invisible army” of healthcare—carers. In the U.S., the value provided by informal caregivers—families, friends, neighbors—was estimated to be $470 billion in 2013, and increasing. Unpaid carers are the glue that holds healthcare systems together. To doctors they are the partners turning treatment plans into reality; for pharma companies they are the catalyst to success; and for patients they are everything. To unlock the true potential of carers, we must broaden our focus. We must tell better, more relevant, readily understandable human stories to ensure there is a true information exchange between the HCP, patient and carer, so that carers become the advocate patients so desperately need.

Purpose, empathy, humanity have always been the foundations of healthcare. It must now also be the building blocks of our communications.

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Changing healthcare communications

Lou Shipley is a Creative Director at the Havas Lynx Group. In this joint blog, alongside David Hunt, CEO, Lou shares her thoughts on the importance of creativity in healthcare.

For too long pharma has suffered with anxiety and paranoia. Determined to position ourselves as inferior to consumer marketing and communications, citing regulations, global complexities and politics. It’s an excuse for mediocrity. It’s also unattractive. Five years ago we launched the Havas Lynx Group on our #GoodPharma manifesto. We believed it was possible to make money and do good. To help patients and carers, and drive the commercial success of our clients. We knew with real purpose and ambition, we could attract the most brilliant minds to join our mission. Below Lou Shipley, a Creative Director at the Havas Lynx Group, shares the truth about being a healthcare creative.

The truth about being a healthcare creative, by Lou Shipley

‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ That was the reaction from my industry peers in consumer- land when I announced my decision to work in healthcare. And naturally my initial concerns were all based on their ‘pharma urban myths.’ What if it’s boring? Creatively limiting? Will it be endless shoots of doctors with stethoscopes? Will I regret flunking science at school? Will I mainly be flogging athlete’s foot cream?

And now, three years into my healthcare journey, I know all of those myths are perpetuated by people with absolutely no idea what it’s really like in healthcare. I’ve done my fair share of work for a plethora of me-too consumer brands. Instant coffee, banks, dog food, cars and microwaveable burgers; all scrabbling around to differentiate themselves from a carbon copy competitor. And that’s fine, but all too often I’d find myself thinking: is this it? And that’s exactly the reason why I chose healthcare over consumer advertising. There’s far more to get your teeth into, it’s really interesting and it’s a whole lot more rewarding.

You see, I’m a geek, and I love interrogating a brief to find out all there is to know about the subject in hand. It’s about digging for that juicy nugget of truth, and the solid gold insight that makes a brilliant idea. Sadly, there’s only so much interrogating a microwaveable burger can handle. I know, I’ve tried.

But in healthcare, you have gallons of studies, unique benefits, more USPs than you can shake a planner at. It’s all at your disposal to find great creative ideas. And you know what? These are the products that actually deserve great creative – I’d much rather give my all to a brief if the end result means I’ve changed a life for the better. That kind of effort feels somewhat wasted on most consumer campaigns. And that feeling is emphasised when I hear moving testimonials from patients and HCPs. I never felt emotional about dog food. But I did reach for the tissues after hearing patients talk about life-changing treatments.

These are the products that actually deserve great creative – I’d much rather give my all to a brief if the end result means I’ve changed a life for the better.LOU SHIPLEY, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, HAVAS LYNX GROUP

Admittedly, it’s not all roses around the layout pad and creative unicorns skipping through the office. It’s really hard work, with hundreds of rules, regulations and stakeholders to please. Global campaigns are accompanied by translation issues, forcing you to think bigger and better than lazy clichés or puns (thank goodness for that). And don’t start me on the campaigns where we can’t talk about the product or benefit. But is any of that really much harder than trying to sell a blue alcopop by doing something ‘whacky’? (Yep, that was the brief and it really was as soul destroying as it sounds.)

Lastly of course there’s the science. Most days I’m transported back to school chemistry lessons (I did flunk). But thankfully, I’m surrounded by people who are smarter than me, translating the science into something even I can understand.

So yes, it’s a different world. But I don’t feel like I’ve turned a weird corner into a creatively moribund science lab. And I don’t need to unlearn everything from consumer advertising. Quite the opposite, it’s about using my skill set to create work with meaning. How many people in the consumer ad industry can truly say that?

As Lou explains, of all sectors, I believe that ours is of the greatest importance. When you speak to patients, families and their care team, you witness our ability to support, help and even change lives. Our insights and ideas have the power to scale scientific discoveries and transform healthcare innovations into global answers. But only if we replace anxiety with confidence, mediocrity with purpose, and attract the brightest, smartest and most creative minds to join our cause. We can change the world, once we change the way we do healthcare communications.

 

Agency of the Year
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Cannes Lions Healthcare Agency of the Year – championing change and demanding more…

Havas Lynx Group are Cannes Lions Healthcare Agency of the Year 2018

I am exceptionally proud of the progress that we have made, while equally excited about the work we are still to do. This is not the end, nor is it the beginning. During the last decade we have made incredible progress to change the behaviours, philosophies and ambitions of the pharma community, and as such external perceptions. Not long ago, we were suffocated by #BadPharma and the historic conduct of our industry. We were guilty of championing our pills, our commercial success, our self-importance. As such, we were dismissed by the brightest creative talent, who instead chose to advertise the latest technologies, fashions and lifestyles.

Since the inception of the Havas Lynx Group, we have been leading the charge in defining a new approach to pharmaceutical communications, one which champions transparency and considers healthcare holistically. We embrace breakthrough scientific discovery, emerging technologies and meaningful data, as well as the individual experience of all stakeholders in care.

Brilliant, empathetic, vulnerable; creatives. The spiritual partners to stakeholders across healthcare that deny tradition, champion change and demand more.

Every year, we see tens of thousands of healthcare professionals (HCPs) retire to be replaced with a new breed of digital natives. For millennial HCPs, scientific knowledge remains the foundation of their profession. But as you’d expect, their ability to use technology has transformed how they operate. The concept of learning via a textbook is now archaic, yet some of the best science is still hidden behind overwhelming reports, publications and data. To better support HCPs in this world, we need to leverage the latest technologies to ensure that for the right patient, at the right time, they have the right information. We also need to recognise the evolution in their characteristics. Today’s physician is more open to collaboration, many of them now harbour entrepreneurial tendencies where their predecessors did not and, like wider society, they  are now incredibly visually conditioned. As we learnt at Cannes, pharma can no longer celebrate being social. Our content campaigns  must now compete with the very best of the consumer world.

As part of our research series, we published a white paper Smiles That Save Lives, which explores the vital role of creativity on the subjective well-being of patients. Google discusses winning the moments that matter, and we need to do the same in healthcare. We need to make sure patients feel supported in  the broadest sense, and that they are part of their solution. Engaged and empowered patients are the influencers. They are the heart of the community and broader crowd. They are critical in the credibility and cascade of information to the global community.

For too long we’ve failed to connect with many of our patients. The clichéd smiling patient has been the easy solution. Today we must build partnerships at an emotional level, with understanding, empathy and creativity.

The third group we must consider is the ‘invisible army’ of healthcare: carers. In the UK the estimated cost of the NHS is £134bn and the estimated value provided by unpaid carers is £132bn, a difference of just 1.5%. Unpaid carers are the glue that holds healthcare systems together. To doctors they are the partners turning treatment plans into reality, for pharma companies they are the catalyst to success, and for patients they are everything. To unlock the true potential of carers, we have to broaden our focus. We must tell better, more relevant, readily understandable stories to ensure that there is a true information exchange between the HCP, patient and carer, so that carers become project managers of care.

The future of healthcare is exciting. New technology, new science and new data have the potential to drive exponential advances in medicine. We have access to massive quantities of data harnessed from a plethora of new technologies. AI and machine learning are revolutionising how we understand and use that data, helping us to develop new, more personalised treatments more quickly and more cheaply than we ever thought possible.

In short, what we once believed to be science fiction is now a reality. But the reality of the best and most advanced treatments making their way to patients depends on our ability to raise awareness, drive education and ensure universal adoption.

Our job is to transform HCPs into innovators, so they are the rule vs the exception. Ensure patients are educated and engaged – activists for their own health and others. Help carers to become advocates and champions for their loved ones. And in doing so, ensure equal access to the latest, most progressive science, technology and data. Winning Cannes Lions Healthcare Agency of the Year is a step in our journey. We can do more, and we will do more. We know the role we must play as a creative agency to help unlock the future of medicine, today.