The world of healthcare is changing. As the millennial generation become more exposed to the constant evolution of technology, they will be faced with new and advanced challenges. The Vital Healthcare Marketing Conference 2018 aimed to help healthcare marketing decision-makers to develop an innovation mindset amidst this changing environment. Rachael McLoughlin, Head of Digital, H4B Manchester, attended the conference in Makati City, Philippines to learn from the market what we should be aware of during this evolving landscape, as well as sharing key research and insights from our mHCP 2016 thought leadership campaign. Learn more about Rachael’s experience of the conference in this blog.

In March I set off on an adventure to the Philippines, to speak at the Vital Healthcare Marketing Conference being held in Makati city, Manila. The conference boasted a great range of speakers all focusing on a particular theme – developing an innovation mind-set in healthcare.

I was here to discuss the impact that the millennial has had on healthcare and how this insight should be applied to digital marketing campaigns and brand building activities. My presentation was grounded in the Havas Lynx whitepaper focusing on the same subject, which you can learn more about at www.m-hcp.com.

First up, after a welcome from Jos Ortega (CEO of Havas Media Ortega) was Maria Garrido, Global CEO of Havas X. Her talk revolved around the Havas ‘Meaningful Brands’ study with a focus on the APAC region. An insightful discussion and I’ll be keen to see where it goes next, as Maria discussed the possibility of fine-tuning the research to differentiate between HCP and patient insight – watch this space!

Next up was Vicky Ortega, discussing findings of the anthropological study she conducted (over 11 countries in 2 years) into the millennial generation. A fascinating talk offering some real insights, providing context for those baffling behaviours we sometimes see younger generations indulging in!

Christopher French from IBM Watson kicked off the afternoon discussing what opportunities we can leverage with the platform. It was great hearing about the possibility to start building connections between fragmented, disparate data sources, and something I will be watching develop closely over the coming months and years!

Following on from IBM, Paolo Borromeo from Ayala Healthcare gave an insightful discussion in to FamilyDoc, which provides an affordable service ranging from consultation and diagnosis to prescription and dispensation – servicing those communities that may otherwise be without healthcare access in the Philippines. It was uplifting to hear about a project fundamentally sitting in that intersection between both moral and commercial drivers (safely in the ‘good business’ Venn overlap)!

The day finished up with a round table discussion between some of the key players in the healthcare market in the Philippines regarding the challenges in healthcare when driving innovation. Great to see a group of key industry figures talking so openly and honestly about the challenges being faced, and the obstacles being overcome!

From my perspective, the key themes from the day were:

• Collaboration is what is going to drive real innovation, and it takes a convergence of varied perspectives and backgrounds to collaborate;
• Innovation shouldn’t just be for innovations sake;
• Good business – we should look to offer helpful change in everything that we do.

It was also interesting to see key themes from our own research reflected in such a different region and market – which made me realise that there is an underpinning thread of innovation that is truly universal.

And just like that, it was over. It was back to the airport for me, and (at the time) back to snowy Manchester – thanks for having me Manila – it was an absolute pleasure!