The Science of Creative Marketing
One would expect someone with a MSC in neuroscience and a history of working with top multinational corporates and brands in the healthcare space, to focus on all things technical and scientific. But creative entrepreneur Mandi Fine, CEO of strategic communications consultancy F/NE Group Global, doesn’t fit this stereotype.
Her success in the complex marketing world of brand and strategy development, ideation and executive change consulting, hinges on simple, engaging communication.
That’s despite the fact that communication in today’s cluttered world of mass messaging and multiple channels may sometimes be as challenging as the evolving world of high-tech healthcare.
“Artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and new technologies are redefining healthcare. I was honoured to be a judge at Cannes Lions in the Pharmaceutical category in 2017, and again this year at Dubai Lynx and Clio Awards in New York. It was inspiring to see how technologies are being used in amazing ways in healthcare communication. The use of VR and AI can take patients and doctors to places they have never been before. Imagine using VR to reduce the pain of highly invasive therapies like chemotherapy or MRIS? But, while algorithms will revolutionise diagnostics, AI cannot replace the caring part of healthcare. Nurses and care workers will still be as important as ever,” she explains.
The same goes for communication. Storytelling is as relevant as ever, with purposedriven and effective marketing having the ability to both change and save lives.
Fine is not surprised that few people have meaningful knowledge about healthcare. In days gone by, they did not know that they had choices, or understand the broader context of health behaviours and how these impacted on their lives. However, the massive shift in life expectancy over the past 100 years is tangible evidence of the extent to which educating people about healthcare can be “change-theworld stuff”. Hence Fine’s passion for this specialisation. But it takes an exceptional person to move away from the siloed approach of the past.
“You have to know exactly who you are speaking to, what you are saying, and how you are saying it. Each communication needs to be very message-specific. That means we have to be much more scientific about where we place our messages and who receives them. This requires data and media information. We not only have to find out more about our customer, but we have to identify much simpler, clearer and artistic ways of engaging.
“As the world we live in becomes more and more about data and analytics, marketing is becoming more personalised, sophisticated and scientific. The data we now have tells us what our customers consume, what they read, what media they engage with, and when and how they make certain decisions. But consumers are human and their decisions are very often about a gut feel, as well as trust. This means that, data aside, the most important part of differentiating in marketing is building authentic relationships,” she explains.
For Fine, this means using two important levers: the science/data lever and the art/ drama/communication/storytelling lever.
Thanks to her unlikely combination of both scientific and drama degrees, she can combine the two. Unravelling and analysing data is a broadly scientific skillset, while storytelling combines information with entertainment.
Recalling her angst as a school leaver when faced with a choice of studying science versus the arts and then, somewhat unconventionally, opting to do both, she found herself, almost unwittingly, just where the modern-day communication professional needs to be.
“When we look at the way the world is going, that convergence of skills is the perfect position for breakthrough communication. Consultancies can have all this incredible analytic stuff but if they do not communicate properly, then the message is lost.”
She says that F/NE Group Global now hires candidates with a mix of science and art skills. “They are best placed to succeed in our fastevolving world. Life skills, grit and multiple skill sets are an asset in today’s competitive environment. The ideal marketing professional should have an appreciation of the arts – be it music, drama or design – and be scientifically or analytically minded. They should also have a love for creativity and travel, and be inspired and engaged by the world around them.”