美女免费一级视频在线观看

At Blackweek’s inaugural event this week, one term was frequently brought up among speakers: culture. 

This word underscored just how much power marketers, particularly those representing health and pharma brands, can tap into by reaching Black communities in a more authentic way.

The conference was designed to “unlock the economic potential” of Black and diverse consumers, creators and marketing leaders, according to its website. 

Blackweek stretched from Tuesday to Friday and brought in more than 1,000 attendees across the three days.

Among some of the high-profile guests — including author Ibram X. Kendi, activist Philonise Floyd (George Floyd’s brother), and Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe — were a number of leaders in the healthcare marketing space.

Those speakers touched on how brands can work to further push health equity into the mainstream, make pharma marketing more inclusive and elevate Black health on TV screens. 

In addition, Haleon’s chief marketing officer Katie Williams discussed how to address pain bias that exists in doctor’s offices.

Check out some of the main takeaways from Blackweek’s health track.

Take health equity mainstream

Health equity took centerstage in a panel featuring Ketchum managing director, healthcare industry lead Nicky Battle alongside JodieAI CEO Doug Melville and Hero Collective Health head Sabrina Modellas.

The industry continues to struggle to meet Black patients at the point of care with empathy and understanding, according to Modellas. In fact, a majority of these patients anticipate discrimination at the point of care, she told MM+M. 

“They actively anticipate unfair treatment, which is something that is going to discourage them from self-advocating,” she said. 

The failure to properly communicate with this critical, underrepresented patient population at the point of care has left her, alongside other leaders, wanting more out of pharma brands. 

She urged marketers to develop better strategies that can educate healthcare providers (HCPs) on what Black patients experience well before they walk into a doctor’s office.

The panel also emphasized the importance of defining brand success from a health equity standpoint.

Since 2020, nearly every major pharma and healthcare company has rolled out ambitious DE&I plans and commitments to invest in boosting representation — from in-house talent to clinical trials. 

However, as it stands four years later, not all companies are actively measuring the impact of those efforts to sustain their DE&I commitments long-term.

Modellas said if anything, oftentimes many brands are putting a stake in the ground and committing to health equity without having a way to measure what that success looks like.

Given this lingering conundrum facing the industry, she called for companies to rely on steadfast metrics and data to quantify their health equity efforts.

Make healthcare marketing work for everyone

In another panel, CMI Media Group SVP of engagement strategy Egbavwe Pela urged medical marketers to approach every single step of their marketing strategies from a new perspective.

Echoing sentiments shared in the first panel, Michelle Alladin, executive director, Dupixent U.S. gastroenterology marketing lead at Regeneron, called for agencies to gather data showing that their DE&I-informed marketing campaigns are making a difference.

Aladdin noted that pharma is heavily reliant on data but posited that their medical marketing agency partners need to take a similar approach. 

“We need to say, ‘Look, this campaign worked here, and here’s the reaction they got from the market and that’s what drove business,’” she said. “If the agencies can help us drive business — that will encourage people within pharma to work more with Black and diverse communities.”

Black health on the big screen

Representation matters and an actress from a current network medical drama underscored why. 

Tamberla Perry, an actress who plays psychiatrist Dr. Carol Pierce in NBC’s Brilliant Minds, led an afternoon panel about Black health on TV. 

She was joined by Ketchum’s Nicky Battle; Sandra Graham-Mason, senior director of oncology marketing at Regeneron; and Dr. Sophie Balzora, president and co-founder of the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists.

The four panelists discussed how Black representation on TV shows and ads can impact health. 

This can take place by featuring more Black actors on TV screens who discuss their health concerns or writing more Black medical experts and doctors into scripts. Though they may seem like small steps, the panelists reiterated how these changes could help spark conversations among target audiences.

“If we don’t get a chance to see people who look like us, it’s hard to spark those conversations,” Perry said. “If you can’t have conversations about it, you can’t ignite empathy about the issues. Storytelling is a necessity for us to get our point across.”

Even in 2024, Battle pointed out that the vast majority of paid media goes towards addressing the general population, or “gen pop” — a term referring to a broad audience that often doesn’t take minorities into account.

Meanwhile, she noted, only 5% of those budgets go to multicultural audiences that actually account for nearly 40% of the U.S. population. 

“We’re far from seeing that representation,” Battle said of the disparity.

Perry underscored another theme that was common at Blackweek as a whole — that companies who invest more into Black representation will see that sizable return on investment.

“When we talk about Black people and people of color and how we consume media, we go out and we spend money,” Perry said. “The fact that organizations feel they shouldn’t be advertising to us — it’s a shame. Portray us the correct way, and we’ll respond to that ad.”

Other themes at Blackweek

When reflecting on the inaugural Blackweek, Modellas said she hopes health will have an even bigger focus next year. 

In particular, she wants to elevate conversations around the social determinants of health, which encompasses factors like ethnicity, housing, geography, socio-economic status and transportation that have a massive impact on health outcomes.

She also highlighted AI as a big theme at the conference, urging pharma players to pay attention to how they can infuse AI tools with diversity to ensure they’re culturally inclusive.

“Do your due diligence before fully implementing,” she warned.

Still, the biggest takeaway from the conference is for marketers to understand how culture shapes minds and impacts behavior.

That’s why she believes Blackweek will become an influential annual conference going forward.

“Make sure you’re immersed in all facets and avenues of the Black experience,” she said. “If you don’t want to be left behind as a company, you have to start paying attention and making the change and a space. A place like Blackweek is where you’re going to have that firsthand experience to do an immersive, deep dive into what that culture is.”