Ogilvy Health U.K.'s John McPartland on Helping People Feel Seen, Heard and Understood

Muse caught up with John McPartland, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy Health U.K. to discuss the agency’s health influence offering, The Melanoma Law initiative and more.

Muse: The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving. How does your agency adapt and innovate to stay ahead of the curve in delivering impactful health messaging?

John McPartland: The healthcare landscape is a constantly evolving beast. With new technologies, treatments and research emerging every day, it can be difficult to keep up. But amidst all this change, one thing remains constant: the need to connect with people. No matter how advanced our medical knowledge becomes, we must never forget that at the heart of it all are real people with real concerns. That’s why delivering content that resonates with them is so important. Whether it’s through compelling storytelling, engaging visuals or relatable messaging, we must always strive to connect with our audience on a human level. Because no matter how much the healthcare landscape may change, people will always be at the center of it all.

Our newly launched health influence offering is testament to this. With more and more people turning to social media for health messaging, we created an industry-first offering that helps brands utilize this growing phenomenon. By leveraging their expertise, credibility and social media savvy, these influencers are able to help brands amplify their message, increase their reach and build trust with their target audience.

What unique approach does your agency take in addressing health-related messaging and campaigns?

David Ogilvy once said “Tell the truth, but make the truth fascinating.” This has become a guiding principle in how we approach our work. We understand that illness and disease can be difficult and complex, and coming to terms with this for some can be overwhelming. That’s why we distill everything down into a simple, fascinating truth.

Every project has a focus on the underlying insight driving peoples’ behavior. By highlighting the fascinating aspects of the human experience, we’re able to connect with people on a deeper level, building trust and understanding along the way. Whether it’s through compelling visuals, engaging content or innovative campaigns, we strive to make the human condition come alive in all its complexity and beauty. Because at the end of the day, being human is a challenge, but it’s also what makes us unique and special. And by telling these stories in a fascinating way, we can help people feel seen, heard and understood.

How does your agency integrate emerging technologies into health campaigns to reach and engage audiences effectively in an increasingly digital world?

We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to reach people. We understand that technology is constantly evolving, and we’re committed to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to healthcare marketing. We work across disciplines to ensure that we are delivering work that is pushing our clients on a daily basis.

But while we embrace new technologies and platforms, we never lose sight of what’s most important: the message. Whether we’re using social media, email marketing or cutting-edge digital tools, our focus is always on telling compelling stories that resonate with people on a personal level. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about how we reach people, it’s about the impact we have on their lives. There’s an old saying, “Shit at the speed of light is still shit when it gets there.”

By integrating new technologies into our approach, we’re able to reach more people than ever before. But it’s the message we tell them that truly makes a difference, and that’s something we’ll never forget.

Share any success stories or specific metrics demonstrating the positive outcomes of these efforts.

A recent example was our campaign for Skin Cancer U.K., The Melanoma Law.

Skin cancer rates are rising rapidly in the U.K., part of this is due to the increase in the use of sunbeds, fueled by social media and influencers promoting them online. Sunbeds are legal in the U.K. and are regulated by the Sunbed Regulation Act (2010).

Despite the law being in place, 100 people die each year due to sunbeds. We needed to highlight the dangers of sunbed use as well as lobbying to change the current law to tighten restrictions.
To do this we showed how the law wasn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Placing the law on a sunbed, over time, it became burned, blackened, and blistered. Exactly the same effect that they have on your skin. The laws were sent to influencers, politicians and journalists to highlight the dangers and lobby for change. We filmed the process which helped jolt people into action and write to their MPs, as well as using the burned law as OOH, which helped people spot the signs of melanoma.

This project touched so many aspects of the agency, bringing in PR, influence as well as our health experts to deliver a vital message to the right people at exactly the right moment. Within two weeks the initiative had been featured in over 300 press articles, and most importantly the Melanoma Law was introduced to the Parliamentary Health and Social Care Select committee for their consideration.

That’s where the true power of creativity in healthcare is. Using the tools at our disposal to create work that changes laws, and changes lives.