Having been in healthcare communications for the past 20 years, I recently paused to think about whether I felt I had in any way missed out on channelling my more creative side? Are we overall a creative industry? Or does creativity sit more naturally with FMCGs, free of the shackles of heavyweight restrictions?
Perhaps it is harder to be creative in healthcare, particularly if we are trying to communicate the benefits not just of medicines but of pharmaceutical products. Or does a constrained environment give us the impetus to create our best work? The healthcare landscape is complex and challenging, but not unique in the way it restricts and regulates. There are often tensions and frustrations when creative solutions are initially agreed upon, then reduced to a lesser version of the original idea by fear of risk.
I also believe ‘creativity’ is often misunderstood, with a tendency to focus on a narrow definition, which immediately makes us think of something visual; a great ad, a compelling video, or a moving strapline, without asking the real question: how did we get there?
In healthcare communications, insights have traditionally guided our way to define the unmet need, and are the power behind every campaign. Creativity is how we translate data into relatable ideas; how we reinvent, reframe or problem-solve to reduce complexity; how we address misconceptions or information gaps; how we leverage champions and behaviours such as FOMO or JOMO; how we build on insight and knowledge, to zoom in on what really matters to our audiences. And we go beyond that, finding new ways to engage and co-create with audiences, partners and stakeholders. What is not creative about that?
But there is also an element of magic, and a flair for looking differently at communications and behaviour challenges.
The jury is still out on whether healthcare is a more challenging environment creatively, but what I find more compelling and inspiring, and what is keeping any sense of FOMO at bay, is that creativity in health can have a higher purpose and drive transformative change. Creativity with purpose. Because health matters to us all and we can make a difference.
Stefi Rucci, Joint MD and Head of Healthcare, SAY
