#001 · 18 May 2023

Welcome to the first official edition of CULTURx. Every few weeks, I plan to bring you some of the best news, trends, and campaigns I’ve seen in healthcare. And most importantly, the stories where healthcare meets culture and creativity.

There will be no tech bros here. I’m officially banning the use of the term omnichannel in any of my writing. Just my humility as I share the things keeping me inspired and excited to work as an agency strategist in healthcare.

I might also occasionally share a haiku. I like to write these in my downtime. They help me find my voice, practice my writing skills, and help me to cope with anxiety… so I’ll be putting my full self out there in these issues.

Seeing as this is issue #001, I am struggling to understand the right balance of how much of me I want to put into this, versus keeping it “strictly business”. So please allow me some musings, and to try a few things out over the coming months as I begin to find my voice for CULTURx. With that, here’s a haiku I wrote a little while ago when CULTURx was just a baby thought. Let it ground you and provide a moment of reflection before we get into the juicy stuff.

Right then, shall we get into it?

#1 Dove levels up Real Beauty in gaming

Dove’s Real Beauty platform needs no introduction. Since 2004 it’s been slaying, championing women, challenging beauty standards and pushing for inclusive representation of women in media. We’ve all been moved and captivated by the brand’s campaigns and social experiments over the years (if you haven’t, do yourself a favour and check out Dove Real Beauty Sketches right now). A lot has changed culturally since then, but as the world evolves so does the definition of beauty and the spaces that portray this, including gaming. According to a recent study by Dove, Women in Games and Centre of Appearance Research:

Staggering. Yet so unsurprising to me. Enter Dove’s Real Virtual Beauty mission – a powerhouse of an alliance with the gaming industry’s best, including Epic Games/Unreal Engine. Working together to educate and empower game developers to create a healthier, more diverse representation of girls and women in gaming around the world. I’m here for it!

#2 Move over GPT-4, your predecessor can read minds

Whilst the world is gushing for GPT-4, I’m going retro with GPT-1. It hit the news earlier this month as it can (to some extent) decode our thoughts! I for one am equally jazzed and creeped out about this!

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a process of taking pictures of the brain to see which areas are active during cognitive processes like thinking, seeing or moving. Fundamentally, these scans cannot tell WHAT someone is seeing, hearing, or thinking in the scanner. Until now…

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have developed a language decoder, using AI (similar to ChatGPT) to translate thoughts into text. After extensive training, the decoder was able to get the gist of stories that subjects watched or listened to. It’s worth noting that the model trained on one brain does not translate to another, and in tests the interpretation came back as complete gibberish. The human brain is amazing!

Why I am excited: This is GPT-1, imagine what it can do with GPT-4.  And researchers hope this tech will eventually be used to support patients who have lost the ability to speak due to injuries or diseases like ALS.

Why I am terrified: The ethical implications are huge. And we need thorough consideration to protect people’s mental privacy as the tech develops.

#3 Painting the Picture of Care

Canvases of Care; GE Healthcare and BBDO New York’s new work to mark National Nurses Week in the US caught my eye this month. And as soon as you see these beautifully incomplete portraits from artist Tim Okamura you’ll see why. Every single brush stroke that created these works of art is a homage to every single hour these nurses have committed to the profession. The unfinished touch of these portraits is a powerful nod to the fact that a nurse's work is never done.

For me, this works on so many levels, but the real beauty is in the simplicity of GE Healthcare’s overarching brand platform; Care that Can. Because simplicity doesn’t mean inflexibility, it actually gives a brand space to do more. It work’s here because Care that Can speaks directly to the great lengths that nurses go to care for others. And the level of creativity in the idea is a testament to this, and not let down by the execution, which is just STUN-NING!

I can’t wait to see what else the brand brings to life through this platform.

#4 Curious about the future of advertising? Check out this podcast series.

Ok, so technically this link isn’t new. But it’s new to me because I’ve been enjoying these podcast episodes on my commute over the past couple of weeks. And this isn’t technically healthcare either. But this miniseries from Advertising Week and the UK’s Department for Business and Trade will provide healthcare marketers with an exciting introduction to where the industry is heading.

Episode one delves into consumer behaviour and where ad consumption is taking place. From the overwhelming array of channels to moving away from gimmicky uses of technology in marketing. Episode four looks at how brands can build value in new media spaces like gaming, and questions whether this should be all or nothing.  

The biggest learning for me (or should I say reminder?), is that all the core principles about advertising apply here. Good platform ideas have the potential to stretch across channels. And those ideas need to be compelling, truthful, and meaningful to the people you are trying to talk to. It’s the same old stuff, just executed in a different way. When we approach emerging spaces with that in mind it’s far less intimidating.

We should never forget that patients and HCPs are just ordinary people. So as more distractions, influences, spaces, and experiences grow around them, so do the opportunities to connect in new and surprising ways. But we need to stay up-to-date and be excited and inspired by the changes (and challenges) to deliver effective communications that are not only relevant to them but right for the places and spaces we are talking to them.

#5 The COVID pandemic emergency is over, didn’t you know?

So, I couldn’t wrap up my take on the top stories in health and culture over the last couple of weeks without mentioning the biggest of them all: WHO declares end to COVID global health emergency. But one thing struck me - this big news doesn’t really feel like big news at all… it’s all just a little bit meh.

I wanted to check my biases here. Are these just my feelings, or is it an actual thing? So, I spoke to some other strategy pals in healthcare. People who (should) have their finger on the pulse when it comes to healthcare news and trends. And the feeling was somewhat mutual. Here’s the gist of it:

These responses have left me pondering the cultural implications of the official end of COVID (not the end, as COVID is very much endemic). I’ve got lots of thoughts buzzing around my brain. People’s levels of apathy and adaptability will always surprise me. How quickly we forget… clapping for our frontline healthcare workers one day, to them having to strike for being undervalued the next. And what for the next pandemic? Will it just be a case of “here we go again”? After all, we all know this was the practice run. But if this is a moment of closure, I for one am proud of the science that got us to this point.

And that’s it for issue #001. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I hope I’ve delivered on my promise to bring you a balance of healthcare and culture. And above all brought you some inspiration to help you tackle your next healthcare marketing challenge.

As this is early days for CULTURx, any feedback you have will be a gift. And if you like what you read, please subscribe, and pass it on.

Until next time ✌