CREATI NG AHEA L T YH

Eicos T Y

How can creativity play a role in the health of our society, and how innovation is key to making it happen.

What were the biggest obstacles you faced in 2022, and are there any challenges you expect to see in 2023?

I believe that human resistance to "the new" will always be our biggest challenge, not just in 2023. And I'm referring to the people who sit in the decision-making seats. Both on the agency side and client side. You can't fail with health, and fear of failure is one of the reasons people are hesitant to change.

But innovation is a must. We would still communicate by letter and listen to the radio if advances were not required.

Laura Florence Executive Creative Director

Havas Health & You Brazil

What are your creative ambitions for 2023, and how important are creative awards in achieving those goals?

Any work from the industry that excited you from last year?

Before I list the cases that I find incredible, I'd like to highlight the evolution of creativity in health communication, especially in pharma. I've been a judge in the category at several creativity festivals since 2018, and could witness the improvement in ideas and productions.

But, back to the cases: I am particularly a fan of ideas that serve to better society. Because, in my opinion, it is now one of the tasks of advertising, not only in health communication but in all categories, but mostly in health communication since health involves much more than a healthy body.

To have complete health today, we need: income and social protection; education; job security and living conditions; food safety; housing; social inclusion and non-discrimination; access to affordable health services of good quality; and, of course, mental health. In other words, it consists of developing a comprehensive and supportive ecosystem of health and wellbeing that extends beyond the doctor-patient connection.

With this new concept of health in mind, Eyedar and Project Convey stand out in terms of inclusivity, while Lil Sugar stands out in terms of food consciousness.

What trends have you seen emerging within Health & Wellness and Pharma?

Historically, traditional health communication and systems have not been user-friendly. Humanization permeates all aspects of society as we become more sensitive to and mindful of the kind of experiences we want. And, paradoxically, we often use digital and technological tools to generate more human experiences. I'm seeing more and more use of AI, electronic gadgets, and other technologies to assist physicians and patients not just speed up diagnosis but also learn how to live with their diseases. This is the case of the "Sick Beats" and "I Will Always Be Me" instances.

The process of innovation is a journey into the unknown, into what has never been done before, and it may be terrifying. We are scared of what we don't recognize. It is a difficult route that demands consistent commitment. And good ideas emerge only through this route.

"Creativity is a team sport," according to Greg Hoffman, former Nike CMO. But if "the new" is challenging for an individual, imagine for a group. An agency that believes that hiring more creative people will result in better creative work will be disappointed. Without collective bravery, creativity is nothing more than an obstacle to approvals and fast productions.

No good idea can be built alone. What advice would you give to other creatives/companies trying to break into the Top 10?

Be courageous, curious, and well-connected. Build connections both inside your agency and with your client. Don't be the creative who spends all of their time isolated in the brainstorming room. You won't be able to approve any decent ideas. Every creative person should be a strategist, seek authentic insights for their concepts, and be able to support their points in effective presentations that relieve clients' fears. Having a good concept is only the first step on the journey. Invest in presentation skills, nonviolent communication, consuming a lot of pop culture content, being a reference collector, being a technology enthusiast, understanding people's minds, and taking classes in psychoanalysis. When you truly comprehend the customer journey, ideas flow naturally. Oh, and please take personal time, work less, and live outside the agency. Nobody is creative spending the majority of your time in a workplace.

The funny thing is that I just placed my goals into my annual performance review system. And my answer reinforces the points I made in my prior response. My first goal for 2023 is to maintain and strengthen my team's motivation: to encourage curiosity, the desire to explore new ground, and empathy for others. The second objective is to maintain Havas Health & You Brazil's creative reputation as one of the most creative health agencies in the world, and awards are important thermometers in this regard. The awards are also crucial for client connections since they recognize not just a case but also the courage of a client who wants to pursue that revolutionary idea. It is essential for a motivated team that desires to grow more and more, and, as I already said, it is very important for the agency's reputation.

How do you spot and evaluate award winning work?

The first parameter is how felt about this case. Because if it makes me feel something, I pay attention. Then I begin to rationalize: Does it make a difference in people's lives? Is society changing? Is it original? These are the three key criteria for evaluating an excellent concept. Then I'll examine the disqualified criteria to see if there is any unconscious bias. Is it perpetuating a systemic bias? It all seems obvious, but it isn't. We have only recently seen the involvement of minority groups in international jury awards; before, we had only seen male, cisgender, heterosexual, and white criteria.

Is there anything exciting you’re working on now? (That you can tell us about).

Yes! We are working on a project for the public health system that will assist persons with limited health literacy in better reading and understanding their medical prescriptions, allowing them to adhere to treatment. That's all I can tell for the moment. But we are really involved and thrilled to get this idea off the ground. It will make a difference in the lives of many people.