Christianna Gorin is a senior marketing leader with 15 years of strategic executive experience building brands that make lives better. She has dedicated her career to the business of helping people be healthier through effective communications and creativity. Christianna has launched dozens of effective health and wellness brands and services across the health care continuum. She has partnered with leading innovators to improve the health behaviors of consumers, patients and health care professionals.
Chatting with AdForum, she elaborates on Ogilvy Health's strategy for using social media, influencers, and data to drive authentic connections.
Please provide an overview of the clients and categories you work with in the healthcare and or wellness space. What kind of media channels are you using?
At Ogilvy Health, we work with client partners across the health and wellness spectrum, from pharmaceutical innovators like Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) to innovative consumer wellness companies like L'Oréal. Our work extends beyond human health into animal and pet health with companies like Zoetis. We're also deeply engaged in the rapidly evolving med tech sector with J&J and health tech with innovators like Dexcom, bridging the gap between traditional healthcare and the dynamic world of consumer-directed health.
We take an earned-first approach to creativity and health behavior change, so we prioritize sparking conversations about our clients’ brands on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and relevant online communities. We tap into existing conversations and cultural trends, working with creators and influencers to build content that generates authentic engagement and integrates into – not interrupts – people’s lives. While earned-first is our focus, we strategically use paid and owned media channels to amplify and support these earned conversations, ensuring a comprehensive omnichannel approach.
What challenges do they face in marketing, and how are you positioning brand narratives?
The health and wellness landscape presents unique challenges for brands: heightened competition, regulatory hurdles, and the need to resonate with value-driven yet skeptical consumers. We build trust and drive results by crafting consumer-centered narratives that appeal to the growing desire of consumers to direct how we achieve and maintain health, even when it comes to complex health conditions. Consumers crave authenticity, not self-promotion. That's why, for Stelo (a 24/7 glucose biosensor), we focused on community. Knowing that 63% of social media users are tired of brand-centric content, we partnered with ambassadors to share their genuine Stelo experiences. This resulted in a thriving online community, increased transparency, and deeper engagement.
Given the growing market for wearables and overall innovation in consumer health, what are the opportunities for healthcare brands? Is new technology and social media helping people move to better health?
The convergence of wearables, innovative consumer health technologies, and social media presents both opportunities and challenges for healthcare brands. On one hand, the wealth of data generated by wearables offers unprecedented potential for personalized health insights, improved treatment adherence, and proactive health management. Brands can leverage this data to create tailored experiences, engaging users through gamification and community features, and facilitating the early detection of potential health issues. Moreover, social media platforms can be powerful tools for building supportive communities and delivering accessible health education, amplifying the impact of these personalized interventions.
But realizing this potential requires addressing key challenges. For instance, the cost of advanced wearables creates a digital divide, limiting access for some and potentially skewing data sets. Similarly, data privacy and security concerns must be addressed to build and maintain consumer trust. Beyond these access and trust issues, brands need sophisticated analytics to translate raw data into actionable insights and compelling narratives that resonate with consumers on an emotional level, moving beyond purely functional benefits. Brands must also combat data-fatigue and continually create new ways to add value to the consumer after the initial benefit of personalized health information is realized -- “I know my trend. Now what?” By prioritizing user experience, emotional connection, data privacy and accessibility, healthcare brands can navigate these complexities and harness the power of these technologies to empower individuals and drive meaningful improvements in health outcomes.
What trends do you believe will have the most significant impact on your clients in the next few years?
One of the most significant shifts is the rise of influencer marketing, moving beyond celebrity endorsements to embrace micro-influencers with specialized knowledge and trusted healthcare professionals. These deeper, more authentic partnerships are shaping brand narratives and fostering stronger connections with audiences. Simultaneously, health and wellness are permeating everyday life, driving the "healthification" of everything from beauty products to pet care. This self-care movement, however, is creating a tension between luxury and accessibility, demanding that brands prioritize equitable access to wellness resources. The ongoing focus on healthcare access and affordability requires brands to demonstrate their commitment to equitable solutions, adapting their communication strategies and potentially revisiting pricing models. The rise of lifestyle-related diseases also presents an opportunity for brands to develop innovative solutions and educational campaigns that empower individuals to make healthier choices, particularly as new technologies like GLP-1s make lasting changes on the fundamentals of achieving and maintaining health. Finally, the transformative potential of AI looms large, promising to reshape healthcare delivery and demanding that brands adapt and integrate these technologies strategically and responsibly.