The Bloc's Remarkable Year in Healthcare Had DEI at the Core

The Bloc’s core mission is simple: “Be great to do good.” And the healthcare agency’s remarkable recent body of work reflects that perfectly—particularly in campaigns aimed at dismantling systemic racism.

The Bloc has been named Clio Health’s Independent Agency of the Year for 2020-2021, largely on the strength of innovative and creative efforts dealing with BIPOC issues—campaigns like “The Call,” “ABC’s of Survival” and “Skindeep.”

In the video above, chief creative officer Bernardo Romero discusses the agency’s work, the changing world of healthcare marketing, innovations in health tech and more. And below, see The Bloc’s Clio-winning campaigns from 2020-2021.

And see all of this year’s Clio Health winners at Clios.com.

NBCDI, ‘ABC’s of Survival’

Born from the creative minds of parents Shamel and Tiffany Washington in the wake of the tragic events of the summer of 2020, The ABC’s of Survival makes “the talk” tangible. Eight months in the making, the book debuted the the first day of Black History Month in 2021. Every page was created with the help of Black parents and BIPOC experts from different fields, including Allyson Jones, head of community mobilization and resource development at the NBCDI. 

Its pages are an alphabet of lessons for BIPOC youth on how to survive—from being aware of your environment and how to interact with the police, to the power of protest, and loving yourself and those around you. This book that should not exist is designed to be torn apart to take action—with tear-out protest posters, and postcards to send to Congress.

EmpowHer NY, ‘The Call’

When it comes to getting proper healthcare, it shouldn’t matter how white or Black your name and voice sound. But in 2020, it unfortunately still does. “The Call” exposes the reality that women of color all too often receive lesser treatment than their white counterparts by revealing just how different outcomes can be, even when patients present with the same symptoms.

Tribute, ‘Instant Doctor’

What will the future of healthcare hold? Will algorithms eclipse doctors entirely? The Bloc hopes not. That’s why, for National Doctor’s Day, the agency created a short film about innovation and humanity to demonstrate how irreplaceable healthcare professionals are. 

Tribute, the world’s leading video gratitude platform, wanted to reinforce their commitment to one of their biggest target audiences, healthcare workers. The film received worldwide critical acclaim, multiple film festival badges, widespread viewership around the world and most importantly, raised Tribute’s revenue in more than 60 percent during the release month.

EmpowHer NY, ‘Skindeep’

Inspired by true events and co-written with Dr. Robert Carter, professor of psychology at Columbia University, Skindeep is a short animated film that uncovers the story of racial trauma beneath personal experiences. The film illustrates, for the first time ever, the full impact of systematic racism on people’s mental health, particularly women of color.

Washington Heights Corners Project, ‘Overdose Stopper’

Every day more than 130 Americans die from opioid overdoses. Most of these users were prescribed opioids and then fell into heroin addiction. The most common cause of death—contaminated drugs. The Overdose Stopper is the first-ever syringe with a built-in detection system for dangerous contaminants, turning the very object that was delivering death by overdose into a life-saving device.

Greenwich Biosciences, ‘Diagnosing Epilepsy Type’

The Bloc paired typography designers with physicians to create the first design system in medical history uniquely crafted to diagnose rare forms of epilepsy. The typeface alternates between a normal style and a seizure-like style throughout the book, and the page numbers switch from Roman numerals to Arabic numerals to reflect the shift from medical background information to more action-oriented recommendations. The book is a hard-bound, lay-flat textbook with a textured and embossed cover. It is both a stark reminder of the void in disease education, and the life-changing potential of filling in those gaps.

Mesmerize, ‘Visual Meditation’

Mesmerize is a digital treatment uniquely created with hypnotic visuals combined with soothing evidence-based music and expertly crafted guided meditations to help patients with concentration difficulties.This campaign targeted physicians to encourage them to include Mesmerize as part of their current treatment plan.