Global creative agency RAPP proves that healthcare is not a one size fits all category

Erica Kraus on RAPP's commitment to championing DE&I in the healthcare conversation

кем Elizabeth Watson , AdForum

 

RAPP
Прямой / Теле / Маркетинг базы данных /система управления информацией о клиентах
El Segundo, United States
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Erica Kraus
SVP, US Health Strategy Lead RAPP
 

Erica Kraus is the SVP, US Health Strategy Lead at RAPP. Her specialty is brand positioning as well as enabling clients and agency partners to make meaningful impact for individuals. Addressing diversity in the healthcare space and why it is important for advertisers to acknowledge and understand, Erica discusses how RAPP attempts to communicate its importance in the advertising industry. 

How does RAPP address diversity in the healthcare space through advertising? 

RAPP is an agency all about the individual, so diversity is at the heart of everything we do. In health, we challenge ourselves to understand customers as whole people. What condition might they have — and also, where do they live? What are their interests? Culture? Channel preferences? Do they have sufficient access to quality healthcare? Is our work ADA compliant? Are the pronouns we use inclusive enough? We ask ourselves many questions, so that we find the right opportunities for a brand to earn a role in their lives.  

 

What is the importance of customizing content to an individual’s health needs in the realm of healthcare advertising?

Have you ever had an experience with a great doctor or nurse who takes the time to understand your needs and then creates a personalized plan for you? When someone does that, you’re more likely to have a better outcome. 

That’s what we try to do in our practice. We like to say, “Great care happens when we care greatly.” We design experiences and content to get to know individuals and respond personally so they too are more likely to achieve a better outcome.

 

In what way does RAPP create an understanding of individuals' realities, values, and intersectional identities within the healthcare industry?

While we talk a lot about data and technical capabilities, what I find sets RAPP apart is our humanity as an agency. We do the work internally to understand our individual realities, values, and intersectional identities. It’s a practice that our leadership invests in day after day. For us, this translates to a more empathetic, inclusive, and considerate approach to understanding customers.

 

How does RAPP balance customized content with wide-reaching brand communications?

Great question. The digital solutions we create for clients are designed to be personalized for millions of individuals at scale. Like traditional advertising, there is still an overarching creative or experience idea that will appeal to many. Within that idea, there’s flexibility to customize content. In other words, there’s still a consistent brand experience, but it’s shaped according to the way a person engages with it.

 

Could you give an example of the effectiveness of what you are doing and why it is needed in advertising? 

We work with a brand that is a treatment for people with psoriasis. We did an experiment where we created a mobile user interface (UI) closer to Instagram than a typical pharma website. It has posts about the different ways psoriasis can affect a person in their everyday life. When users engage with these posts, the site responds with personalized tips, education, and motivation to take greater control of their health.

From this, we have seen a high level of engagement from younger adults who are overwhelmed by psoriasis and might not have realized that others feel the same way. This opens the door to a different type of relationship with the brand than they may otherwise have expected.