Ogilvy has announced the launch of a global health influence offering designed to “bridge the gap” between medical expertise and public awareness.

The suite of global influencer marketing services is aimed at providing pharmaceutical, healthcare and wellness brands access to the influence economy “at a specialist level”.

The launch comes as both patient and healthcare provider communities are increasingly turning to social media platforms for health information.

According to new data from Ogilvy Research & Intelligence, 70% of survey respondents said they either follow or seek out health-related social media accounts, or learn about health or medical issues from social media accounts.

Of those who engage with health-related social media accounts, 93% reported taking some action as a result of the content they saw and 54% said they scheduled an appointment, such as preventative screening.

Additionally, eMarketer found that 57% of physicians have altered their perception of a drug or treatment based on information from social platforms.

Kim Johnson, Ogilvy Health’s global chief executive officer, said: “We are in the social age of health and wellness where shared experience is highly valued. Expert and specialist influencers are a new frontier for health and pharma brand engagement.

“We know that different forms of social and influencer content play a major role in educating and shaping positive health decisions in society today – from how people cope with symptoms to when they seek a diagnosis.”

The new offering, Health Influence, brings together Ogilvy PR’s global influencer team with those from Ogilvy Health who have experience working across the health and wellness spectrum.

The unit’s services range from strategic guidance on engaging with influencers at brand, therapeutic and corporate levels through to influencer identification, vetting and campaign activation.

Rahul Titus, Ogilvy’s Global Head of Influence, said: “Like consumer and business audiences, increasing trust and sparking business growth depends on authentic credibility, not just hard sales. Pharma and healthcare brands that get this right will reap the benefits from a rapidly expanding creator economy.”

Titus added: “Our experts understand the unique landscape of health and influencer marketing, ensuring regulatory compliance while delivering powerful narratives through credible influencers.”

Makara Health Communications has been renamed Precision AQ following a rebrand by Precision Value and Health, which acquired the healthcare communications agency last year.

The rebrand unifies nine organisations under one name to create a single company that offers a “streamlined and comprehensive” experience for life sciences clients navigating the complexities surrounding patient access to therapies across the product life cycle.

Combined services under the new brand will include investor relations and external communications, global pricing and market access strategy, evidence generation, brand promotion, medical education, omnichannel solutions, learning and development, public relations, and patient insights and support.

Precision’s president, Doug Fulling, said: “We are stronger together, combining the strength of life sciences experts, advisors and creators, all working towards the same goal: changing the blueprint for access.”

The organisation outlined that the new name stands for Precision Access Quotient and reflects its approach to removing barriers – fusing together science (IQ, or intelligence quotient) and empathy (EQ, or emotional quotient).

Precision’s offerings range from economics outcomes research in the US, to key opinion leader and digital opinion leader mapping and omnichannel customer insights globally.

Alongside the rebrand, Precision has appointed Makara’s founder, Louise Sharp, to the newly created role of executive vice president, general manager of its international team.

“My role will focus on using our patient-first mission to ensure the organisation’s blueprint for access is tailored to the specific needs of our international audiences,” Sharp said.

Makara’s acquisition by Precision in April 2023 was aimed at enhancing the organisation’s market growth position and increasing its ability to offer pharmaceutical clients in Europe “culturally aligned programmes, along with tailored senior support to achieve [its] business objectives”.

Fulling said at the time of the announcement: “Broadening the reach of our services in Europe is one of [our] focused strategies in order to extend our offering to more organisations and healthcare clinicians around the world.

“Ensuring scientific rigour and accuracy for those responsible for the care of patients is a business imperative for Precision and Makara’s proven track record beautifully complements our offerings.”