healthcare communications

Last month, I threw out all inhibitions and
hit fast forward 90 years into the future.

Recently, as we celebrated Ketchum's 90th anniversary, agency CEO Rob Flaherty shared that 10 percent of the focus for the occasion would be on the past, and 90 percent would be on the future. With that, I sat around a conference room table with four colleagues – all from different specialty areas – tasked with sharing our vision for the next 90 years with the New York office. Read full post »

This article first appeared on HolmesReport.com. For more thought leadership on creativity, please visit http://creativity.holmesreport.com/.  

The title seems oxymoronic, yet creativity can
live in the regulated land of healthcare. The challenges are significant and inherent in the culture of the industry.

FDA regulation puts many restrictions on what you can say about healthcare products. Off-label claims, or claims of efficacy prior to approval are forbidden and communicators traverse this landscape with the caution of an explorer avoiding grenades in unfriendly territory. Both pharma and device companies have incurred fines or worse from the government for marketing offenses in this arena. Read full post »

The concept of creativity in itself is inherently
subjective and difficult to define. Add the challenges of a regulated environment to the conversation, and it is almost impossible to put creativity in the healthcare space in context alongside the highly visual and social outputs of creative campaigns in other industries. Nancy Hicks, Senior Vice President, Associate Director, North America Healthcare Practice, has described achieving creativity in healthcare as trying to look glamorous in army fatigues. In healthcare, much of the creative thinking is hidden behind the scenes – it’s about finding an engaging way to reach an audience when language used to connect with people is strictly regulated and interactions with them are even further limited in spaces where they spend large portions of their time, such as on social media. Read full post »

In her overview of creativity in the healthcare industry, Nancy Hicks, Senior Vice President, Associate Director, North America Healthcare Practice, notes that healthcare companies are eager to be first in scientific or clinical innovation but that this drive to be first often stops in communications, which lends to a “me, too” style of creativity.

Building off of this theme, we asked colleagues at Ketchum to share their insights on how to help clients stand out as creative leaders in an industry that often relies on following other leaders. Participants in this discussion included: Harry King, Practice Director, London; Jon Hendl, Senior Vice President, New York; Diane Johnson, Vice President/Account Supervisor, Washington, D.C.; and Sarah Unger, Managing Account Supervisor, Creative Catalyst, New York. Read full post »

This article first appeared on HolmesReport.com.  

Think about the last time you came up with an
exciting, insightful, creative idea. Picture how deeply committed you were to this concept, and how exhilarated you felt as you began to share it with others. Pretty nice, right? Now remember how it felt when the idea got shot down by someone who didn’t share your passion – and, worse, who had the power to kill it completely.

What went wrong? Whomever we are trying to share a creative idea with, we all struggle with this question. How can we as individuals be so connected to a concept while others – clients, colleagues, spouses, or friends – can’t even begin to wrap their heads around it? Read full post »