Communication Trends @ Cannes Lions 2017

1. PHARMA and HEALTH
Communication Trends
@ Cannes Lions 2017
An Ebiquity Insight Sample

2. Introduction
EBIQUITY COMMUNICATIONS INSIGHT
Since the introduction four years ago of the Pharma and Health & Wellness
categories at the Cannes Advertising Festival, they have often attracted criticism for
not being representative of current pharma communication.
While many of the most visible pharma campaigns are never submitted to industry
awards, winning campaigns over the years do showcase the profound
transformation that the healthcare sector is undergoing. This year was no
exception, with notable campaigns going beyond traditional (pharma)
communication, using technology from AI to VR to improve patient lives, making
creative use of data and research or using specific cultural insights to solve health
problems and change behaviors.
We have compiled a short list of the trends we have noticed, that we believe can be
used as inspiration and learning for Pharma brands in creating communication and
experiences that inform, educate or enrich consumers’ lives “beyond the pill”.
Welcome to the Ebiquity Insight
PHARMA and HEALTH
Communication Trends @
Cannes Lions 2017
Newsletter

3. UNLEASH THE CREATIVITY IN DATA
Key Learnings:
With the rising adoption of digital technologies the amount of data
available to health and tech companies is expected to increase even
further. The ability to look at data in novel and creative ways will
provide new opportunities for Pharma and Healthcare companies to
engage with consumers as a whole and on a more personal level.
„Meet Graham“, a road-safety campaign from the Australian
Transport Accident Commission was one of this year‘s most awarded
campaigns (winning Grand Prix in both Health & Wellness and Cyber
categories). Using extensive road-safety data and medical trauma
research, an interactive, AR-enabling-sculpture called „Graham“ was
created, depicting what a human that can withstand low impact
crashes would look like. With 89% message recall and 10 million
website visits in 5 days, the campaign is now being used globally in
WHO‘s road safety efforts.
What do Smiths and heart attacks have in common? There
are more than 2.2 million people named Smith in the US;
making it the most common last name. Heart attacks are
unfortunately also very common in the US, with one
happening every 42 seconds. So Bayer recruited Smiths to
carry Aspirin and possibly save lives by having the medicine
available to chew in the event of a possible heart attack,
generating renewed interest and relevance for the 130
years brand.

4. Two of the Cannes Lions awarded campaigns used innovative technology to
improve the quality of life of Alzheimer patients. In China, Baidu used state-
of-the-art face and speech recognition technology in a project aimed to
improve quality of life for the cca 9 mil. Chinese suffering from Alzheimer. In
Italy Longeva‘s „Chat Yourself“ uses chat bots, Google maps and Facebook
timeline features to provide helpful information especially for patíents at the
onset of the disease.
Northwell Health aims to position itself at the forefront
of healthcare innovation and won a Health & Wellness
Silver Lion for this project that helped develop a
prostetic leg that can be used seamlessly for
swimming and walking. The institution was also
shortlisted for its „Connected Room“ project that
allows long-term patients to personalize their hospital
rooms as well as communicate with family members
outside of visiting hours.
PUT TECHNOLOGY TO GOOD USE
Key Learnings:
Digital technology can be simply used to bring the company or
product message to consumers. These campaigns prove there is a
lot to gain by going „beyond the pill“ and focusing on innovation
and finding tech-enabled revolutionary solutions to the health
problems themselves.

5. EMBRACE VIRTUAL REALITY
Key Learnings:
VR and immersive technologies are being used in communication
campaigns from many sectors as a modern means to engage with
consumers. In Pharma and Healthcare as these examples show, VR
technologies can and do go beyond mere entertainment to provide
real world healthcare solutions, from patient therapy, to staff training
or to overcome certain barriers to treatment.
In Brazil, Hermes Pardini Vaccination centers used VR and a
customized game to help cca 60k children overcome their fear of
vaccinations every year. Apart from the VR game there is a nurse
app that allows synching what happens in VR with each step in
the vaccination process, thus preparing the kids step-by-step for
each phase and easing their fears of being immunized.
Samsung‘s involvement in medical technologies is not
new, but this campaign from Mexico used not the
brands‘ professional imaging technologies but its
consumer mobile VR Gear device to improve and
enlarge access to therapy for phantom limb patients.

6. DIG DEEP INTO CULTULRE
Key Learnings:
Much of Pharma and Healthcare advertising is focused on
a problem-solution mechanic. Looking further into local
events that shape consumer behaviours and attitudes or
into local culture can help brands build relevance and
engage with consumers on topics they care about.
Humour and mindful social listening were key to the success of
the #DebateHeadache campaign from Excedrin. Without getting
too close to the political debate itself, the brand exploited the fact
that most Americans were considering headaches impossible to
avoid during the 2016 US elections campaign, and used the event
in an unusual way (especially for the Pharma category) to create
awareness for its headache-releiving product.
One of the most remarkable campaigns of the year is
surprising through its simplicity. To overcome the many
difficulties of tracking Afghan children‘s immunizations, the
culturally-engrained charm bracelets were used, with
beads of different colours marking each vaccine.

7. DISRUPT THE DISRUPTORS
Key Learnings:
Similar mechanics for creating awareness, busting myths or
overcoming current behaviours can inspire Pharma brands,
especially when it comes to unbranded information campaigns for
that need to work around the many restrictions and regulations of
the pharma sector.
Overcoming the doctor‘s own biases and predjudices is
the starting point of „The Changing Face“, a campaign
from VIIV Healthcare in the UK aimed to convince
doctors to recommend HIV testing to patients that
show the first symptoms but might not have the (stereo)
“typical“ profile.
With the rise of the internet, asking Dr Google instead of a real doctor
is often cited as a source of patient misinformation and self-diagnose.
A campaign for Down Syndrome awareness from Canada focused on
overcoming this barrier by using smart SEO marketing and letting
people with Down Syndrome answer the 40 most common questions
about the condition themselves. The campaign gathered 519 million
impressions and answered 240K questions, an impressive number
given the yearly number of Down pregnancies is 25 800.

8. REAL PEOPLE STORIES
Key Learnings:
Authenticity is often sought after by consumers, especially
when it comes to communication from sectors under intense
scrutiny and with low trust levels. Consumers are becoming
more discerning and see through staged testimonials, but
documentary style stories have a high potential to engage.
J&J has been using personal quit stories as motivation tools for its
Nicorette stopping smoking programme. The 3 minute film that
won a Silver Lion this year, titled „One Breath“ brings to life the
real story of free diver Daan Verhoeven and follows him as he
prepares for a free dive, sharing both his struggles and the
incredible achievements in free diving that quitting allowed him
to pursue.
„Handle with Care“ tells the emotional story of a grown-up son
taking care of his elderly father after a stroke. The film follows the
pair around as the son helps his father with daily tasks, including
shaving him according to his father‘s precise and demanding
ways. Only at the end is the innovative Treo product from Gillette
designed for assisted shaving revealed, a making-of video filling in
the incredible attention to detail that went into the development
of the shaving razor.

9. SPEAK „MILLENIAL“ / (DON‘T) WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE
Key Learnings:
While Pharma and Healthcare communication and product claims are highly
regulated, brands must still strive to find ways to create relevant content that
stands outs not just among the category but within the vast amount of digital
content available and that competes for consumers attention, especially when it
comes to a younger target.
Engaging with a younger audience through powerful
visuals and outspoken language is what these four
campaigns from various Healthcare areas have in
common – apart from each snatching at least one
Gold Lion.
In different ways they all break category norms:
Bodyform / Libresse SCA feminine hygiene brand
breaks the taboo of showing and talking about
„Blood“ in women‘s sports, Sick Kids VS shows sick
kids not as victims but as fighting back the disease
with fierceful determination, „the World‘s Biggest
Asshole“ engages young potential organ donors
through crude humour and New Zealand brand
Anchor uses Millenial‘s love of poetry slam to talk
about the nutritional value of milk.

10. The campaigns feature here bear witness to the profound transformation that
technology has on the Pharma and Healthcare sectors and to the fact that
meaningful innovation and creativity can thrive even in the most regulated
industries.
What is essential for success is blending technology with a profound understanding
of the consumer, so that it is used to solve real consumer problems and becomes
an integral part of the consumer experience, rather than remain a fad.
If you would like any more information on the campaigns featured in this report, or
our services in general, please get in touch. Our Insight work guides companies
with in-depth analysis of competitor communication, trend analysis, market entry,
thematic or category studies across paid, own and earned channels.
Thank you,
Mihaela Tantas
Insight Consultant
Mihaela.Tantas@ebiquity.com
www.ebiquity.com/de
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EBIQUITY COMMUNICATIONS INSIGHT