On Thursday, April 16, FCB Health paid a virtual visit to the members of PRISM! Every year, PRISMites look forward to this exciting event, and this year’s virtual format didn’t stop us from making the 2020 visit just as memorable as those in years past.
FCB Health is one of the world’s most awarded communications networks in the healthcare space. Their network includes numerous accomplished organizations such as Area 23, FCB Cure, FCB Health, Mosaic Group, ProHealth, Solve(d) and Trio. During their visit, the advertising experts from Area 23 shared their most valuable professional advice as well as their experiences working in the dynamic world of healthcare advertising.
Group Strategic Planning Director Tyler Dickson and Creative Director Pamela Savage shared their expertise as creatives, leaders and innovators in the advertising world. Both being former Hokies and team members at Area 23, the pair gave a rousing presentation on the organization’s current projects and what it means to be entrepreneurial, creative and inventive in a highly regulated industry.
In addition to Dickson and Savage, former PRISMite and an assistant account executive at Area 23, Lauren LeHanka, recounted her experience of transitioning from student life in Blacksburg to work life at Area 23 and in New York City.
Our hosts from the FCB Health network were not the only ones to present Thursday. PRISM’s recently appointed executives, Savannah Meredith and Hanna Kron, shared with everyone in attendance just how our organization is staying connected during these unprecedented times in addition to the hard work of PRISM’s accounts, creative, analytics, and operations teams.
Reflecting on the experience, Chief Marketing Officer Savannah Meredith said,
“I’m amazed by the works Area 23 and FCB present to us every time we collaborate. I’m so grateful we have this relationship and was really proud to present our work to them! Whether it’s virtual or in-person, it doesn’t change that we’re all creators and excited to share our work with one another.”
Following the Chief Marketing Officers’ talk, McKenzie Collins and Leah Hendershot impressed our hosts by presenting a three part solution to a prompt that the agency had tasked us with prior to their visit.
The question that Collins and Hendershot answered asked,
“How would you effectively market to small populations that are spread out geographically?”
According to the two seniors, the key to marketing to smaller populations is by fostering a stronger sense of human connection between brands and their consumers. Two possible strategies they offered were taking advantage of the current opportunities that lie in streaming services, like YouTube, Quibi, Twitch and Mixer and capitalizing on the recent spike in popularity of Instagram lives. Collins and Hendershot stated that these methodologies would allow for organizations to bring community directly to the consumer by creating a moment of genuine interaction and engagement that feels relatable and personable to both the consumer and the organization.
This meeting was made possible by PRISM’s ongoing relationship with FCB Health and the efforts of Molly Beck, a PRISMite and senior studying public relations. She organized this virtual visit after the original in-person meeting was cancelled due to ongoing concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In this uncertain time, we wanted to give members something to look forward to,” said Beck. “Instead of shutting down all of the visits we look forward to each year for students to make professional connections and interview for jobs, why not adapt? I am thankful for FCB Health to take a chance with us navigating our first virtual visit. I think the visit was a huge success and made me excited to see how the upcoming virtual visits go!”
After an informative and inspiring visit, the our team left the Zoom call feeling more motivated than ever to continue searching for new and innovative ways to connect with our clients, community and teammates regardless of whether we are together or apart.