Health PR Needs: Creativity, Imagination and Understanding of Science.

Some of us may probably face in the future the great challenge of working in health PR and I think we had better get prepared of what waits us. Navigating yesterday in PRWeek’s website an article entitled Health PR –A Creative Science grabed my attention. But, actually how a science can be creative?

"The world greatest scientist Albert Einstein stated that Imagination is more important than knowledge, while great mathematicians and physicians reached entire solutions with sudden spontaneity", states in her article, Julia Holt, client services director at Huntsworh Health. She suggests that "creativity in science cannot sit on its own - imagination and vision are needed for the initial idea, but an understanding of science is needed to execute it" and she continues arguing that "the same philosophy applies to healthcare PR".

Since scientists’ messages very often sound too "complex" to the public, they really "need to be translated into something understandable". Particularly, in the pharmaceutical world, things can get really difficult just because scientists do not speak the language of their publics. And here comes the need of understanding and knowledge of the science. Scientific understanding will ensure that messages addressed to the public are adequate.

The message has also to be "believable and convincing" and has to engage the public which unfortunately is not always willing to listen doctors’ and specialists’ advice. In campaigns against smoking or excessive drinking for instance, target audiences are not only people who have these habits and cannot give up, but also people, mainly young, who will face such challenges.

One of the first things that really shocked me when I first came in the UK was the drinking habits of young people. Five years ago an article in the BBC News called binge drinking the "new British disease". According to the ABC News the Institute of Alcohol Studies in UK has managed to make a creative ad campaign against binge driniking that really "speaks the language of the young". The video that follows is part of this campaign but it really shocks.

The above advertisement is an example of a creative commercial campaign. But, this is mainly advertising and not PR. Could also PR do something really creative to change the attitude of the young in the UK towards excessive drinking? Yes, probably provided that tactics are "creative" and adequate enough to affect the key publics.

In my opinion, creativity is necessary for all PR activities no matter whether the aim of the campaign is raising the profile of an organisation, increasing footfall in a shopping centre or changing people's attitude towards a product. But I think Health is a "sensitive" sector that needs much attention and as Julia Holt says in the above stated article "creativity and science need to co-exist".