What our newest recruit loved about Communiqué 2021
M&P &Me
Picture this: it’s the last week of summer before you join the big professional media landscape. You’re enjoying a casual Tuesday morning when you get a call from your boss – for a job you haven’t actually started working yet – inviting you to a black-tie dinner in London, tomorrow night. You do not own a suit and bow-tie. What do you do? Go.
I’m Nick Massey (the one on the far right in the glasses), and I am the newest recruit at Mearns & Pike. My induction? The Communiqué Awards 2021. Mearns & Pike were shortlisted for an incredible 4 awards at this years Communiqué awards and I was lucky enough to be invited as part of the team. I was told beforehand that if we were to win, I should go up with them, despite playing literally no part in any of the potential wins. I felt kind of awkward about that, showing up for one day and getting applauded for my “hard work”. While we didn’t win we were given a high commendation in the Excellence in Media Relations the Against the Odds project. This was a piece of work that helped to keep medtech in the news at a time when the only health stories were on COVID-19. With six different national news stories in 12 months the impact of medtech on keeping patients well and out of hospital was told loudly and clearly even though there was limited space on news schedules for anything non-COVID related.
The agency was also involved in strategy and messaging work for the winner of the Excellence in Corporate Communications: External Stakeholders category for their work with Eastern AHSN.
Due partly to the host comedian Tom Allen keeping up the pace and making the whole experience lighthearted, all 30 winners were awarded in the space of 2 hours, but also due to a decision to cut thank you speeches, and any long X Factor style pauses when announcing the winners.
For a ceremony awarding in 30 categories winners it went surprisingly quick due partly to the host of comedian Tom Allen, made what could have been a long and slow evening, something enjoyable. But also due to a decision to cut thank you speeches, and any long X Factor style pauses when announcing the winners.
I believe that despite having to rush to buy a tuxedo, buy train tickets and pack my suitcase all in 24 hours this was actually the perfect introduction to the job. It allowed me to meet some of the team, talk to some of the clientele and also get a glimpse of the kind of important work I will getting my teeth into in the future. I very much look forward to my future at Mearns & Pike!
2020's Cheerful Countdown
As 2020 ends, we look back on the positives of what has been an extraordinarily strange year. We’d like to remember a highlight of each month of 2020 as we countdown to the New Year.
January (which apparently was this year, not a decade ago!)
“Last January, none of us would have predicted that we’d have a 2020 like this. Everyone has had to rise to the challenge, and we’ve seen some great work happen across the healthcare communications industry.” – Jon Pike
February
February saw the first UK use of the Cobalt heart implant by MedtronicUK and the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre Likened to a ‘paramedic in your pocket’, this operation symbolises a big step forward in pre-emptive cardiac care!
March
Offices shut, events were cancelled, and people stayed at home. Will March have marked a shift in office culture forever? At Mearns & Pike, our virtual office model meant we were already working virtually! We jumped in straightaway to help customers and clients transition.
April
In April, we launched the Lecia ‘Future of Pathology’ Report: looking at the future of pathology in an ever-changing world as seen through the views of the future leaders in pathology. Read the report: https://bit.ly/3h35AyQ
May
“My highlight of the year has to be the educational poster competition we ran with @National Geographic and @Covestro – one of the winners even told his Mum he wants to work at Covestro when he grows up!” – Claire, M&P, Consultant
June
“This year I loved working on reports to help the NHS adjust after COVID. I have so much respect for everyone working in the NHS throughout the pandemic, and I felt grateful I could help out even a little bit.” – Nicky, M&P, Medical Writer
July
After seven finalist nominations and FOUR WINS, we were pretty happy after the 2020 Communique Awards. It was a different ceremony this year; dancing on your own kitchen table isn’t quite the same… Looking forward to seeing everyone at 2021’s ceremony. Read the write-up on our wins here
August
Some stories really tug on the heartstrings. After listening to Adrian explain how his operation in the @B&L Eye Surgery Suite in Hull saved his career as a jeweller, we were so grateful to be able to share his experience with the wider world in August.
See his feature in the Yorkshire Post: https://bit.ly/37puGVe
September
“My favourite month this year was September, when I got hired by Mearns & Pike! I’d never worked in PR before, and I learnt so much just in the first few weeks. I’m really excited to bring in 2021 with all the lovely people in the company.” – Blánaid, Account Executive.
October
October wasn’t scary for us! Our story on Surgical Smart Glasses by MedtronicUK / RodsNCones received widespread coverage, including in The Sun and on The One Show. We were grateful to be able to raise awareness of all the hard work by Papworth Hospital and the tech that helps them do it!
November
In November, we took part in @PharmaTimes NHS Comms Team of the Year, in which you write and deliver a pitch in just two hours. What a way to get the adrenaline pumping! The competition was fantastic fun, made even better when we WON the award
December
“I’m so proud of what we have achieved this year. It is great to win awards but more than that knowing that our clients love what we have achieved together is what matters most.” – Kirsty Mearns
And that’s all folks! Thanks for spending a little bit of your tumultuous 2020 with us, and here’s hoping for bigger and brighter things in 2021.
Happy New Year!
What we love about our Communiqué shortlisted campaign, The World Through Patients’ Eyes: Immersive Role Play Training for Ophthalmologists
We are finalists in the category for Excellence in National or Local Education Meetings/Stand-Alone Events at this year’s Communique Awards - here’s a bit more about what we did.
Dry eye disease (DED) can have a major impact on patients’ lives, with people making significant compromises to manage their symptoms. Despite the severity of the condition people often struggle to access the right treatments. Ophthalmologists can underappreciate the impact of DED on people’s lives and may delay escalation of treatment with a detrimental effect on patient outcomes and their confidence in the healthcare system.
Our immersive role play education was created to motivate ophthalmologists to think more proactively about the needs of DED patients and build confidence to treat appropriately.
Built around a simulated consultation between a clinician and a patient (played by an actor), the role play was constructed based on real patient insights to highlight their needs and expectations and offer clinicians practical tips to address these.
This innovative training format, which allows the audience to step into a real-life scenario, led to a change in behaviour for attendees – who have modified the way they communicate with patients, how they try to understand their needs and concerns and how they approach decisions around treatment.
Kirsty - What I Loved About This Project
“I loved the collaboration on this project between us, the client, the clinician and the actor to take the concept of a ‘live’ consultation and make it into such a powerful, educational approach. It required everyone’s passion and belief to make happen and once we saw the reaction from the audience we all knew it had worked.”
Jon - What I Loved About This Project
“Being able to watch a ‘live’ consultation, pause it mid-consultation and have the patient and doctor explain to the audience how that interaction felt provided a much richer experience for the audience. I loved how you could see people look at the consultation in a different way and think to themselves ‘what can I do differently with my patients.”
What we love about our Communiqué shortlisted campaign, the Launch of 670G
We are excited to be shortlisted in the Excellence in Media Relations category of the 2020 Communique Awards TWICE!
In this blog we talk about what we loved about the launch of 670G for our friends at Medtronic.
The Minimed 670G insulin pump marks a significant advance in the treatment of type 1 diabetes thanks to the ability of the pump to automatically adjust the basal (background) insulin given to an individual based on constant readings from an accompanying continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device.
The national launch of the innovation provided an opportunity not only to raise awareness of the technology but fuel discussion around CGM and access to this essential tool in diabetes management among the T1D community.
Using traditional media as a spark to encourage debate on social channels, we ensured that 670G was the talk among the T1D community. With exclusive broadcast coverage across the BBC network and a well-timed story with the Press Association we generated a campaign that reached the masses and our target patient population in equal measure.
Jon – What I loved about this project
“The best thing about this project was working with Laura and her mum Lynn. Laura was the first person in the UK to have the pump and she was brilliant at sharing her experience of what it was like to have diabetes as a teenager, about to go off to University. Together with her mum Lynn they not only told a great story but also helped others who came to them on diabetes forums with questions about the technology and their experience of it. A good case study always brings a story to life but this duo were the best!”
Kirsty – What I loved about this project
“It doesn’t always happen that a media strategy goes to plan but this one did - with a lot of hard work up front and ongoing liaison with everyone involved. I loved that the BBC got the story they wanted and the Press Association were able to post a regional story which went national before most journalists had finished their cornflakes.”
What we love about Putting the Digital Transformation of Leeds Pathology Department in the Spotlight
We are excited that four of our projects are shortlisted to be Finalists in the Communique Awards 2019. We’ve written a series of short blogs sharing what we loved about each of these pieces of work. #LoveWhatYouDo
In this Blog we share what we loved about getting media attention on the Pathology Department in Leeds General Hospital, and share their experience of digital transformation.
The aim of this project – shortlisted in the Excellence in Media Relations category – was to share the experience of the Leeds Pathology Team in implementing an end-to-end digital pathology service and ensure their recognition as a leader in the digital transformation of pathology in the UK.
We turned a routine Trust Board Meeting into a celebratory event – offering a unique behind the scenes tour of the department for carefully-targeted media and creating an opportunity for the Leeds team to inspire other hospitals to follow their impressive lead. We worked closely with the media to make sure their story was told in detail, not just as a short piece of news.
The results were awesome: we were proud to secure quality coverage in 14 different titles (targeted at pathology and hospital C-Suite audiences), a spot on the local BBC News bulletin and endorsement from the Royal College of Pathologists. The media attention even inspired Health Secretary Matt Hancock to include the Pathology Department in an already packed-out visit to Leeds the following week.
Jon - What I loved about this project:
I loved putting myself in the shoes of the different journalists we were targeting and thinking about what they needed to make this a story for their readers. The Communications Team at the hospital were great and we put our heads together to think about the angles that would appeal to different media and how we could package the story in the right way to get them to write in depth about how the pathology department had made the transition to digital, not just celebrate the fact they had done it. The highlight for me was The Biomedical Scientist deciding to make their next edition the ‘digital’ edition and making this story their front cover with in-depth articles from three members of the team from Leeds.
Kirsty - What I loved about this project:
This was the first time this client had done something like this. They put their confidence in us to deliver and we did. We worked quickly and collaboratively to pull it together in a very short time, and we were all proud of the results. A true partnership based on trust!
What we love about Free to Live Life Again: Bringing Purpose to Medtronic Pain Therapies (EMEA)
We are excited that four of our projects are shortlisted to be Finalists in the Communique Awards 2019. We’ve written a series of short blogs sharing what we loved about each of these pieces of work. #LoveWhatYouDo
In this Blog we talk about an engaging internal commnications meeting where everyone lived and breathed the same purpose.
Our brief was to help 75 managers from the Medtronic Pain Therapies business to feel a sense of purpose and to be inspired to embed that through their teams.
Taking inspiration from insights from the team, we developed an organisational purpose that would unite them and bring energy to the business. We brought that purpose to life through a 2-day event for Managers. We used a range of approaches and stimuli to create an emotional connection with the audience and challenged them to unpick the Purpose and how they could live it every day.
We challenged them to explore the purpose from different perspectives, and to plan how they would instil this within their teams. The highlight of the meeting was a scavenger hunt around Lisbon – the teams were tasked with the sights, sounds and smells of the city to bring to life their Purpose. The team left the meeting feeling motivated and inspired by the opportunity to offer life-changing therapies to patients and empowered and equipped to cascade the Purpose to their teams.
Kirsty - What I loved about the project:
I loved seeing how people engaged in the workshops. We created a gallery of artwork, poetry and music created by people living with chronic pain, and a Lego “fire walk” that prompted people to reflect how pain affected them. It was all about stepping in the shoes of patients living with pain – feeling different sensations and really helping people to explore and understand why they do what they do.
Jon - What I loved about the project:
The client was really happy with the meeting but one bit of feedback I cherish was from the event team onsite in Portugal. Kirsty and I had the idea to plot a scavenger hunt and series of activities around Lisbon linked to the Purpose. During the pre-event site visit we worked out how it could happen with the local events team. It took a lot of hard work to set up but they did an awesome job making it a hands on experience, with tile painting, re-enacting a famous historical statue and even poem writing. After the event, the team leader said she’d organised a lot of events in her time but none as creative and hands-on as this one and she’d loved being part of it. We felt exactly the same!
What we love about... Future Proofing The ABHI
We are excited that four of our projects are shortlisted to be Finalists in the Communique Awards 2019. We’ve written a series of short blogs sharing what we loved about each of these pieces of work. #LoveWhatYouDo
We are excited that four of our projects are shortlisted to be Finalists in the Communique Awards 2019. We’ve written a series of short blogs sharing what we loved about each of these pieces of work. #LoveWhatYouDo
ABHI (Association of British HealthTech Industries) has represented the interests of the UK medical technology industry since 1988, but its position as the leading voice in the sector was under threat.
Conscious that their reputation was of a traditional, old-fashioned trade association, valued primarily for their regulatory expertise, the Executive Committee and Board decided that action was needed to “future proof” ABHI to broaden their appeal and membership base and position them more strongly as a forward-thinking force in healthcare.
Our brief was to reinvigorate the ABHI brand and positioning and use this as a platform to promote future growth and influence in the sector. We achieved this by gathering insights from ABHI members, stakeholders and the wider environment, changing the organisation’s name to reflect the focus on HealthTech, creating a new visual brand – with our friends at Nu Creative - and developing a new story, tone and lexicon that would underpin everything ABHI does internally and externally.
As a result ABHI is experiencing a higher level of engagement with influential stakeholders, including Secretary of State Matt Hancock. Membership is growing with a strong representation from the digital/app/data sector and online and social media followers have increased significantly.
Jon: What I loved about this project…
I really loved working on this because everyone was so open-minded and ready to challenge their preconceptions based on the insights gathered from members, stakeholders and the internal team. We didn’t end up where we thought we would end up and that, for me, shows that the process worked and that the client was ready to challenge the old ways of doing things to give themselves the best chance of success in the future. Watching how they have built on the new brand to grow members, influence and their appeal is really inspiring and makes me feel proud to have played a role in helping them to define their future.
Kirsty: What I loved about this project….
This was a true team effort between us, the ABHI team and Nu Creative. We gathered the insights and helped everyone to make sense of them so together we could shape the direction. Nu Creative created a fabulous new logo and brand that would propel ABHI forwards, and the ABHI team took these ingredients and ran with it, creating a whole host of materials and activities to bring the brand to life. Working in that way is fun, rewarding and allows everyone to bring their strengths to the table – I loved it!
What we love about... Launching and Building Engagement for the ‘New’ RMS Business
We are excited that four of our projects are shortlisted to be Finalists in the Communique Awards 2019. We’ve written a series of short blogs sharing what we loved about each of these pieces of work. #LoveWhatYouDo
We are excited that four of our projects are shortlisted to be Finalists in the Communique Awards 2019. We’ve written a series of short blogs sharing what we loved about each of these pieces of work. #LoveWhatYouDo
The Medtronic Respiratory & Monitoring Solutions (RMS) team had been through a turbulent year of change and engagement scores within the team were low and trending down. An all employee meeting to mark the launch of the New RMS business was an opportunity to unite the team behind the Vision and the Purpose of the business and kick off an internal communications campaign that would engage, inspire and motivate them throughout the year.
The purpose – Patient Safety in Our Hands - which we brought to life through the meeting was personal, meaningful and authentic. The agenda we put together fostered a sense of emotional connection to the business and the work they do, and the programme promoted collaboration and ownership at all layers of the organisation. The momentum from the meeting was maintained through an Awards programme that recognises the achievements of teams delivering projects that promote Customer Partnership, Medtronic Collaboration and Patient Safety.
A positive shift in understanding and confidence in the RMS strategy was seen pre and post event, alongside an improvement in employee engagement scores to a record high for the division and a corresponding uplift in sales across the region.
Kirsty: What I loved about this project…
Patient Safety in Our Hands is a simple concept, but incredibly emotive. It was something everyone could get behind and bring their own meaning to. That’s what a Purpose needs to be – relevant, meaningful and relatable.
Jon: What I loved about this project…
I love shaping an agenda that meets what the client wants to communicate but with the freedom to shape it in an exciting and engaging way. The RMS Leadership Team were so cool to work with: open-minded about different ideas, up for trying new ways of presenting and happy to be personal and authentic with their teams. You could feel the buzz in the room and outside, in the side discussions and breaks – everyone was energised and excited about the future.
Looking Back on 2018
What We Loved About 2018
2018 was our first full year of Mearns & Pike. It felt like it went by in a blink. It is easy when life moves so quickly to forget to take time to reflect on where you have come from. We think that celebrating our accomplishments is just as important as looking forward.
Join us in reliving some of the things we have loved doing in 2018.
Three things we've loved over the past nine months
Three things we’ve loved about the first nine months of Mearns & Pike in action.
Blink.
Yep, that’s the first nine months of Mearns & Pike flying past! They have been jam-packed. Here are three things we are most proud of that live up to our mantra of Love What You Do.
The future of HealthTech
You know when you picture a cool destination in your head, and when you get there it is better than you imagined. That’s how we felt working with members of the Board and the awesome team behind the Association of British HealthTech Industries on a rename and rebrand of their organisation. Challenged to help ABHI think about the future of their industry, we undertook in-depth interviews with 20 opinion leaders in health technology and industry, surveyed ABHI membership and analysed the environment to recommend a future focus and direction for ABHI. Working with the fabulous team at Nu Creative we were able to help ABHI bring their new name and vision to life. The result was a bold new look and a focus on the shaping the future of HealthTech. Check out where we ended up and what ABHI is all about at www.abhi.org.uk.
A BBC exclusive for a little talked about health timebomb
We’d never heard of Fatty Liver Disease before. It gets little mention in the media despite the fact that it is thought to have a higher prevalence than type 2 diabetes and has serious health consequences. Putting Fatty Liver Disease in the spotlight felt like a challenge we’d love to get our teeth into. Working with the passionate team at Perspectum Diagnostics, UK Biobank, the British Liver Trust, Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust, the BBC and, most importantly, an amazing patient case study, we were able to tell the story of Fatty Liver Disease and show how early diagnosis and intervention can, in fact, reverse the disease. Best of all was working with Frances to tell her positive story about reversing Fatty Liver Disease. She was a superstar – eloquent, passionate and can totally lift more weights than both of us combined!
The Greatest Show – well, a pretty good one by our reckoning
There is a great line one of the Muppet Movie songs (Gonzo’s ‘I’m going to go back there someday’): There’s not a word yet, for old friends who’ve just met. Whatever word that would be, we would use to describe the team from Medtronic’s Respiratory Monitoring Solutions (RMS) business and their event partner Contour. They asked us to help spice up their internal launch meeting after a period of change for the business and were the perfect clients. The planning and conversations with them went something like this:
Us: We’ve had an idea for this section of the meeting – how about we do ‘this’?
Them: Cool, love it. Let’s do it.
It was brilliant to have that level of trust and to be able to decide together different ways to engage their team.
We, in turn, were lucky enough to work with a brilliant events team from Contour who made the meeting run seamlessly. With them the conversation went something like this:
Us: Hey, we’re going to need to get hold of some penguins dressed in tutus (not really, but that would have been cool)
Them: Of course, they are already ordered in anticipation. They will be here at noon. Tutus come as standard with these penguins.
We have to admit to shedding a couple of tears at the end of such a positive and amazing meeting – and when the client shares a few tears of joy too then you know it was a great event to be part of.
We feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work on projects like these, and many more that bring something different to our clients and mean that we can genuinely say we Love What We Do.