The brains

When my daughter was diagnosed with Cystinosis, it opened my eyes to the sheer number of conditions that human beings can suffer from. However, it also made me more aware of the treatments, equipment, drugs and people available to help. I founded Create Health to raise awareness of those brands, services and people making a difference to families like mine.

Losing a close family member at an early age made me realise just how important health is. I’d planned a career in medicine, but after deciding that A-Level sciences weren’t for me, I pursued my love of communications and forged a career in marketing. I feel very fortunate to be able to combine my two passions to create work that truly matters.

The healthcare industry is bursting with extraordinary and ingenious ideas that have the power to transform the way we live and empower people to take control of their own health. Healthcare marketing, on the whole, is not. I’m proud to be part of an agency that’s changing that.

Like many people, I fell into Healthcare accidentally before realising it would be impossible to ever go back. As Global Director for Digital at GSK, I drove programmes of change and innovation that impacted the way the business viewed and worked with patients and doctors. As Head of Health at Google, I partnered some of the most creative technology brands, pioneering initiatives to improve health and transform lives. As a member of the board at Create Health, I am passionate about supporting this team and our clients to deliver ever more positive change to the mindsets and, in turn, health of real people.

Like most of us, my relationship with health is a cacophony of contradictions. The values I drive into my three young children versus the standards I set for myself. My rush to judgement of others versus my flagrant lack of personal willpower. Over my career I have used the internal battles we all experience to help brands sell things people often don’t want or need. At Create Health, we use these levers to persuade people to do things right. To live healthier lives. And that feels really good.

I’m a knowledge magpie and I’m fascinated with cultural change, so it’s no surprise I find healthcare endlessly exciting, especially right now. Healthcare businesses are driven by regulation and product developers; so the human truths which can actually drive change are often buried in technical and clinical data. I love helping clients tease insights out so that they can be used to create strategies and plans which make a difference.

At 6 months old, my eldest son was diagnosed with a rare and fatal immune disorder, we immediately ended-up at Great Ormond St. The staff were amazing, their kindness and dedication fantastic. Thankfully, the diagnosis was wrong, he’s now a healthy and smart young man. But that episode had an effect. That’s why, every day, I work to help doctors in their decision making. So they can choose the best medicines and techniques – to give patients better lives.

Mark is a serial entrepreneur. His first business was Mason Zimbler, a technology focused digital marketing agency, which was sold to Harte Hanks in 2007. Following that, Mark set up Mubaloo, an enterprise app development company. Employing 60 people, it was the most awarded agency in the UK. He sold the business in January 2016 to IPG Mediabrands and is now the non-exec of four businesses.

Mark is also Governor of the University of the West of England and is on the Prince’s Trust Development Committee. In 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate for his contribution to business and technology. In his spare time he flies hot air balloons.

As a marketer, there are so many industries one can choose to specialise in, but for me, healthcare is the most meaningful and rewarding. I may not be saving lives – but I can certainly raise the profile of those who have dedicated their lives to doing so.

Our health is omnipresent, one of the only things that has a profound and continued impact on what we do and how we do it. Working with clients that have the ability to genuinely change the way people live their everyday is hugely exciting and something I’m proud to be part of.

After over 10 years in digital project management working across agencies in branding, user experience and software development, the opportunity to focus on a sector that makes a real difference to user’s lives is one I am relishing. Health tech has come a long way in the last few years, and with so many other emergent technologies developing at such a rate, I am excited to be part of delivering that difference.

Healthcare brands develop incredibly exciting and potentially life-changing products. But they so often undersell themselves. Working at Create gives me the opportunity to change this. I get to specialise here and get under the skin of the products and services we’re working on – something I never got when working across multiple sectors.

The pharmaceutical and medical device markets are constantly progressing and evolving, with scientific developments pushing the boundaries of our medical capabilities each day. For me, being at the forefront of this process and working alongside healthcare brands each and every day is an engaging and rewarding experience.

The joy of client services is connecting with clients and what they do. Our clients are passionate, intelligent and excited about their products and our creative process. The projects that we’re involved with reflect this, so the final product is always something that we can all be proud of.

Whether I’m creating the artwork for an email that could cut patient waiting times, or a brochure to launch a life-changing piece of technology, it’s pretty amazing to know that I have worked on a project that will help prevent or cure a medical issue.

I’ve always been curious about how things work, whether it was posters of dissected frogs on my bedroom wall (sorry mum), anatomy books or taxidermy. In fact, I initially wanted to be a pathologist. I didn’t quite make it to med-school, but at Create, my two passions – creative and biology – collide.

The ad industry can sometimes feel a little superficial, so it’s great to be able to work in a sector that’s for the better of people; empowering, enlightening, improving health and ultimately lives. Working for Create Health enables me to combine my love of design, my urges to get geeky and my need to care for people.

The ingenuity and exploration of people working in the healthcare industry pushes modern medicine and care beyond the limits of my comprehension. Can design save your life? No. But I think being able to spread the message of the people who can, is the next best thing.

Surrounded by the often vacuous consumerism of marketing, I think it’s wonderful to be able to work with brands that truly matter. Ones that change lives, save lives, and improve lives every day. Create Health lets me express my passion for crafting copy, while helping such important causes make the connections and get the engagement that they deserve.

Both my parents worked within the healthcare profession, so naturally I followed suit and developed a passion for it. Working at Create Health enables me to combine two things I love; developing relationships with people and talking about the life-changing developments happening in health.

After 5 years working in creative agencies and tech start-ups it’s a refreshing change to be working on projects that make a difference to people’s lives. With my passion for user experience, fluidity and interactivity I’m excited to be part of an agency at the forefront of healthcare marketing.

Maybe you can feel it in your bones – is it time for a change? Come join our curious team & start mattering, not marketing. Click here to get in touch.