Deloitte Digital's Aaron Sidorov and Joanna Ruiz on Finding New Solutions in Health

Joanna Ruiz is managing director and Aaron Sidorov is group creative director for Deloitte Digital’s life sciences and healthcare practices. They are focused on creating ideas and experiences that transform the healthcare space through innovative cross-industry collaborations, omnichannel campaigns and digital strategies.

Joanna has 25 years of agency leadership experience, working with life sciences and healthcare brands to harness creativity and drive impact. She helps clients develop transformational experiences to connect more closely to consumers, patients and HCPs.

Aaron has 13 years of agency experience working with life sciences and healthcare brands. He and his team at Deloitte Digital are actively working across health technology and health equity to address new problems with new solutions.

We spoke with Joanna and Aaron for our Checkup series, where we chat with leaders in the healthcare marketing space.

Aaron and Joanna, tell us…

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

• Aaron: I grew up in Maryland, went to school in St. Louis, raised a kid in Manhattan, and always knew I’d never live in New Jersey. I now live in New Jersey.
• Joanna: I grew up in Brooklyn, went to school in Massachusetts, lived in Spain for a year, then moved to Manhattan. I always knew I’d never end up back in Brooklyn. I now live in Brooklyn.

How you first got into healthcare marketing, and what attracted you to it.

• Aaron: I was an art school student with a minor in creative writing and I and co-owned a shipping and storage company while in school. My portfolio was filled with paintings, poetry, and this tangential thing about a trucking business. Eventually, a healthcare agency tried me out as a “creative assistant.” I was terrible at getting people coffee and booking travel. But I enjoyed the challenging briefs in healthcare.
• Joanna: I was pre-med in school but hated chemistry and physics. So, I took the LSAT to become a lawyer. I changed my mind and majored in communications with a double minor in zoology and Spanish. I guess my end goal was to translate scientific legal terms for animals in other countries.

Something people might not know about the healthcare industry.

• Aaron and Joanna: The healthcare industry has always looked for inspiration from CPG and retail. Now, every other industry is looking at how to break into healthcare.

A recent project you’re proud of.

• Aaron and Joanna: Deloitte Digital is agency of record for NYU Langone Health, and we recently created their new integrated campaign, #TheBestOutcomes. The campaign launched across TV, OOH, radio, social, digital and CRM, and elevated NYU Langone to a category of one. As part of the launch, we created a surprise social media film to share the story of one heart transplant patient who was rejected by other hospitals for being “too old.” The film, Hearts for Phyllis, debuted on her 75th birthday with a push to get her as many hearts (likes) as possible after no other hospital would give her one. The campaign resulted in a record number of appointments at NYU Langone one month after launch.

Someone else’s project in healthcare that you were impressed by recently. 

• Aaron and Joanna: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a Welsh football club. Then, they made a hit show about it. Along the way, they made a bet that resulted in them both going live with their colonoscopies. They brought humor and attention to a critical topic. But, no spoilers about the final episode of Welcome to Wrexham.

A major challenge facing healthcare advertisers today.

• Aaron and Joanna: Conventional healthcare agencies are still focused on creating campaigns that generate short-term awareness. But with the world changing rapidly around us, businesses are facing new problems that require new ways of thinking and new solutions. Rather than doing the same old same old, healthcare advertisers need to look deeper into data and find ways to form collaborations outside the traditional walls of healthcare.

One thing about how healthcare is evolving that you’re excited about.

• Aaron and Joanna: Healthcare is becoming a consumer-driven marketplace and consumer brands are stepping into the healthcare world to create dynamic offerings and new products. We’re excited about the way traditional healthcare companies are drawing creative inspiration from consumer brands and the way consumer brands are starting to enter the healthcare space with FDA-approved technology.

How healthcare can attract more creative talent.

• Aaron and Joanna: Create an endless flow of briefs to solve real problems facing people and the planet. And hire diverse talent to tackle the briefs. This is one of the reasons why we’re so proud that Deloitte is a founding donor of the Creative Ladder.

What would you be doing if you weren’t in healthcare marketing.

• Aaron: Playing baseball. Not professionally, just all the time.
• Joanna: Racing sports cars. Professionally and all the time.