In life there are not many guarantees other than death and taxes. If you work in the healthcare communications industry a few more do exist: no two days will ever be the same, client deadlines will inevitably, at least once in your career, lead to nightmares, the ability to work in a team environment will dictate success or failure, and no matter how much time you spend in the office with your colleagues, a few beers after work won't often seem like a bad idea.
A healthcare advertising agency works with pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organisations to communicate drug therapies to healthcare practitioners, provide support programmes for patients and advertise over-the-counter medicines to consumers. Your audience is varied, and so is the way in which you reach them: printed materials, digital media, television, radio and press to name a few. You will be involved in the branding and communication strategy of products, and will support the brand through tactical implementation and by challenging the status quo.
If you look around a healthcare advertising agency, the backgrounds of the individuals are as diverse as the challenges the environment presents. Ad agencies are looking for ambitious, passionate, hard working and capable graduates who are eager to learn and enjoy interacting with a varied group of people. The combination of science, communications and business offers a unique set of opportunities for those individuals that want to combine their healthcare background with their creativity.
But don't be fooled by the laughter, the bean bags or even the pool table (if you're lucky); healthcare advertising agencies are not for the faint of heart. The learning curve is steep and the challenges are abundant, and given the many restrictions when advertising in this industry, the job often requires creative solutions and plenty of good old-fashioned hard work. But if you are the kind of individual that thrives in a team setting, wants to learn in a supportive environment, and can find the laughter in even the most difficult situations, then agency life might be for you.
Graduates can enter healthcare advertising through two main departments that interact very closely with each other: account handling and creative. Both of these have very strong career paths, and there is room for upward mobility in both areas. The account handling department involves working closely with clients and creative teams, where your main responsibility will be to manage accounts and contribute to the overall success of your brands. A starting role would usually be an account executive position, where you will learn the ropes and be responsible for the day-to-day management of projects and budgets, with the support of an account manager and/or account director. If you are starting off with a life-science background in the creative department, you would most likely start as a junior copywriter, and would have the opportunity be part of a creative team on brands, and would work closely with an art director and creative director. Client contact will also be a part of your role, and it won't take long to realise how interdependent all aspects of the agency are, as this is the key to producing great quality work that you can truly be proud of.
So to summarise: in the world of healthcare advertising the work is hard, the people are great, and life promises to never be boring. If this kind of frantic existence inspires you, then you may have found your calling.
The Authors:
Vicky Lopez is Account Director and Tim Warren is Director of Business Development at Saatchi Healthcare.
They can be contacted at vicky.lopez@saatchihealthcare.co.uk and on 020 7462 7691; or at tim.warren@saatchihealthcare.co.uk and on 020 7462 7874
Find out more from real people already working in this sector by reading the case studies:
