The McCann Health Canada team.
McCann health Canada president Neill Brown believes it’s what’s inside that counts. That’s why, he explains, the agency has been reflecting on what its employees want as it strives to create the workplace of the future. At the same time, it’s been studying the mindset of its target audiences to ensure the messages they receive are appropriate and relevant.
He says that in the wake of the pandemic, “the credibility of the messenger is probably under more scrutiny than ever when it comes to health. Our role as healthcare marketers is to ensure the information we’re communicating is done at an appropriate level of health literacy and through credible, authoritative channels. Evidence-based medicine is where we live.”
McCann Health helps ViiV Healthcare Canada create campaigns for therapies as diverse as patients’ needs.
To gather insights, McCann Health has for a second year partnered with CRC Research to speak with 100 healthcare professionals across the country. The resulting study found COVID-19 exposed flaws in our healthcare system and caused many to question its long-term viability. Only 62% would encourage their children to follow in their footsteps and only 3% are strongly optimistic about the future of healthcare. “Medicine is beginning to lose its halo,” Brown says.
He adds that the pivot by pharma companies to digital-only during the pandemic – when restrictions prevented doctors from meeting sales reps in person – has led to healthcare providers being bombarded with emails they mostly delete.
As a result, McCann Health is focusing on being more respectful of physicians’ limited time, making content more educational and less promotional. “You can’t market as if it’s 2019,” Brown says. “You have to read the room.”
The agency worked with Alcon on developing an integrated campaign for Systane eye drops, including this timely OOH offering encouraging dry-eye sufferers to seek relief.
To glean further intel, the agency now has three planners specializing in insight, engagement and science.
The investment and focus on better connection strategies also aligns with McCann Health’s EDI principles, which are ingrained in how the agency develops external work, adds operations director Carly Smith. “Every creative brief must include formal insights into how people and brands can create environments of belonging, connection and shared purpose,” Smith says.
McCann Health partnered with CRC Research to conduct a proprietary study involving 100 healthcare professionals across Canada to help better understand the new challenges they face.
The agency has been simultaneously responding to the changing needs of its teams crafting this next-gen content, as it strives to create the workplace of the future. For one thing, it is offering unlimited vacations. “We value our people’s time – both inside and outside of work. This policy uses trust and accountability to ensure that people can disconnect when they need to,” Brown explains. It has also “normalized flexibility” by allowing employees to come into the office when they wish.
McCann Health supports Dentalcorp in communicating with dental practices to encourage them to partner with the dental service organization.
Brown believes a focus on talent creates an environment for sustainable growth. “That’s how we’ve grown from a small team to about 50 people across Toronto and Montreal while maintaining the mindset of a small agency,” he says.
Case in point, the recent strategy team expansion saw the internal hire of a medical copywriter who wanted to move over to that side of the industry. Career path moves help drive retention, notes Richelle Colbear, VP, client services, noting that McCann Health has an industry-low turnover of less than 3% and was named to the 2022 list of Best Workplaces in Professional Services in an independent analysis by Great Places to Work.
McCann Health’s approach to investing in customer insights and agency talent seems to be resonating with the pharma, consumer health, nutrition, and animal health brands that work with them, as evidenced by newly won business with Sanofi and Nestlé Nutrition, and expanded work with existing clients Roche and Lilly.
And the creativity of that work continues to expand. At a recent medical conference, McCann Health created a booth for a pharma brand that employed anaglyph (or stereoscopic) 3D effects, using a colour filter to clarify confusing messages on a wall. “The anaglyph became a visual metaphor for how people can cut through complexity with the right tool,” says executive creative director Sean Riley.
McCann Health maintains that it is deeply invested in understanding what makes people tick – both its target audiences and its staff. Acting on these insights, Brown sums, “is how we plan to navigate a new era of agency life and healthcare marketing.”
CONTACT:
Neill Brown
President
neill.brown@mccannhealth.com
