It is one of healthcare’s most powerful compounds, requiring a balance and precision worthy of laboratory procedure and meticulous product development.

Creativity is where the abstract is coupled with the applicable to deliver targeted, measurable results, and harnessing it in a digital age unlocks huge commercial benefit and improved patient outcomes.

The agility to think laterally and creatively has always been at the heart of decoding scientific complexities and driving medical understanding, but it takes on extra significance when the healthcare ecosystem is evolving in a far from linear atmosphere.

A recent study put the concept of deploying creativity to improve cardiovascular care in hospitals under the microscope and concluded that it was crucial to problem-solving and performance improvement.

It was focused on clinical performance and learning in hospital settings, but the findings revealed a key factor in creativity that resonates across all arenas, stating: ‘Leveraging new and diverse information sources for creative problem-solving typically required a second, distinct behaviour: accepting (rather than dismissing) disruptive or unwelcome information.’

This is a critical challenge for an industry that is naturally cautious and where disruption is the ‘d’ word and a concept that sets pulses racing. The prospects of boundary-challenging creativity can sometimes be felt with the same discomfort as applying sandpaper to sensitive areas unless it is properly defined, managed and then measured.

Dick Dunford, Group Creative Director at Havas Life Medicom, has a wealth of experience and knowledge across consumer and health sectors and celebrates the force of creativity, but he also understands the caution that swirls around many organisations.

‘Harnessing creativity in a digital age unlocks huge commercial benefit and improved patient outcomes’

“They are evidence-based organisations that make rational and logical decisions, which is where the conundrum lies,” he observes. “They are presented with what appear to be original, untested, untried approaches and naturally ask: ‘What’s the evidence that says it will work?’ We don’t always have that and that is where there is a bit of reluctance.”

A show-and-tell dynamic can change that thinking, as evidenced by Havas Lynx’s Mapping the Tumor campaign that translates the complexities of biomarker testing into a 3D topographic map. It was an eye-catching, memorable and effective intervention (we’ll also hear from its Chief Creative Officer Alex Okada in this article) that delivered solid measurables with boardroom appeal.

“If you were to show that campaign and its results to other pharmaceutical clients in other therapy areas, they would say: ‘Why wouldn’t we do that?’ When they see something that has been well executed, they get it. But if they haven’t seen it then they might want to stick with tried and tested and that is where tension exists,” adds Dick.

He believes that industry also still needs to evaluate and appreciate how best to use omnichannel potential and utilise avalanches of healthcare data in the creative process, adding: “We’re now seeing a new iteration of how pharmaceutical marketing has to operate in a changing landscape.

“We’ve moved away from this very intimate face-to-face conversation towards more of a curated digital environment, so creativity has got to operate in a different way.

“There’s a real drive at Havas to find ideas that are going to be celebrated in the future for their impact and we want to invest in and puts lots of energy behind them, because they have the potential to change people’s lives. There are so many opportunities to do something different now and be creative across different avenues of communication.”

He adds: “Bravery is rightly celebrated, but it should be rooted in patient benefit. From a healthcare professional (HCP) perspective, the devotion to doing no harm and helping people get better remains the same. The challenge we often have is that there are more and more treatments and ways that we can encourage HCPs to think differently about how they utilise different products to help their patients.

“There is a lot of noise and demands on their time and attention yet, despite all the digital tools we have, ideas are the one thing that still cut through.”

Alex Okada, Chief Creative Officer of Havas Lynx, who led creative work on brands from Amazon Prime to Persil before entering healthcare, echoes the challenges creative teams face to stand out in content-drenched sectors. “You’re competing against everything,” he comments. “The whole world is full of distractions and HCPs don’t just view medical content; there are lots of influences on their time and attention; the same for the consumer. You really need to connect through all the noise to stop the patient and say: ‘Wait, have a look at this. It is really important and meaningful for you.’

“People nowadays have very short spans of attention and, although they may be interested in a subject, they have lots of other things to care about. You need to engage with the person and keep them engaged on a journey.”

He views creativity as a tool and a state of mind, adding: “It gives you an edge, an advantage, but it is not just about the execution. It is about how you see the world. Sometimes you need to be creative to really understand the problem and the people involved. For me, creativity is an amazing tool to unlock problems and make emotional and human connections that will give you an advantage.

“This applies to our clients as well, as the industry moves in a very cautious way with all the regulated steps in clinical trials and compliance. We need to take them by the hand on this journey.”

‘Being able to fully evaluate and understand the impact achieved through new and creative initiatives is vital’

That journey can involve inhabiting unchartered territory and being prepared to embrace disruption. “Sometimes it is better to have something more polarising. If everyone thinks it’s okay then it’s probably wallpaper and no one will pay attention. If some people don’t like it then you are creating a dynamic, an energy flow that’s interesting,” he adds.

“You have to be prepared for some negativity on social media. There is a backlash to even the safest of communications, but the aim is to not be so paralysed by fear that your message doesn’t get out. Big companies and big brands get attacked all the time. There is a paradox out there that people trust in certain medicines but distrust pharma companies, which just reflects the society of today.

“It leads to tension, but that is often where the best ideas come from, so embrace it.”

The multi-award-winning Mapping the Tumor campaign reached more than 15,000 US-based HCPs and resulted in a 41% increase in patients receiving key biomarker tests across breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, and other industry creative campaigns are making bold connections that lead to improved outcomes.

“Pharma products are by design made to improve life but clients need to understand that if you push the product too hard you can be perceived as self-serving. Patients and the public want to know that your mission is bigger; that you really care about them and our clients really do. If you can show that you have a purpose in your heart people will want to stand with the company because it is doing the right thing,” says Alex.“The difference in many pharma products is often minimal so it is vital to make a real connection.”

Releasing the shackles of creativity is made easier when metrics can be applied and Ben Gallarda, Head of Scientific Services at EPG Health, which delivers HCP education with funding from life sciences companies through its independent Medthority platform, emphasises that impact measurement promotes greater understanding and engagement.

Working with medical, marketing and digital teams, and agencies, its programme analytics and multistakeholder research give it insights into the challenges and needs for HCP education and Ben comments: “Creativity is about finding the most effective and engaging ways for the content we publish on our independent medical education website Medthority to make a measurable impact on the HCPs who consume it. It’s about innovating and trying new methods, but they must be driven and proven by the data insights we’re able to collect. These in turn help improve our understanding of HCP needs and inform how we can use different touch points to create ‘teachable moments’.

“Being able to fully evaluate and understand the impact achieved through new and creative initiatives is vital.”

It is a critical piece in the creative mosaic and EPG Health has developed an award-winning Impact Outcomes Framework that tracks HCPs’ educational journeys and outcomes, providing insights that can enable creativity to flourish.

‘Creativity is an amazing tool to unlock problems and make emotional and human connections that will give you an advantage’

Its report, The Future of HCP Engagement Impact, underscores the need for insights and evidence and Ben adds: “In it, pharma executives revealed that insight into HCP needs and behaviour was their number one biggest strategic priority for digital HCP engagement. Confidence to innovate can come from this insight. Trying out new ways of doing things requires a certain appetite for risk; such appetite has not always been present in the pharmaceutical Industry.

“But armed with greater insight into the HCPs, which EPG Health already leverages, pharma should find itself increasingly empowered to test creative approaches in a way that is led by the data. Such initiatives are best when backed by long-term investment and nurtured iteratively, evaluating and taking on board the learnings at each stage.”

EPG Health has tracked the growing influence of social media through its connection with HCPs globally. “Over two-thirds of HCPs now consider social media important for accessing scientific content, meaning there are significant opportunities to engage them via this route. For the pharma industry, compliance concerns in particular have traditionally made this challenging, but working with third parties and key opinion leaders is helping to unlock this avenue of communication,” says Ben.

“Increasingly, we see that time-poor HCPs are engaging in bite-sized learning and demanding more convenient types of content that get straight to the core of their educational need. This includes digital formats like audio and video, which have grown in popularity on Medthority.”

High levels of creativity and innovative modes of engagement are showcased at the annual Communiqué Awards and pharma campaigns are scoring huge successes at a slew of design and creativity awards, but combining insights, data and measurements will unleash greater potential for transformative campaigns that address growing issues in healthcare in Europe and globally.

References are available on request.