New research released by Allison+Partners, a global marketing and communications agency, examines the impact of the record-breaking boost in digital health investment and tech adoption during the pandemic for health tech brands. The research also uncovers the barriers and opportunities for marketing and communications professionals charged with telling their stories across the healthcare ecosystem.
After conducting a meta-analysis of existing trend reports, interviews with health tech founders and private equity firms, and surveying 500 senior and C-suite health leaders about the seismic shifts taking shape across the sector, Allison+Partners’ Health practice concluded the health tech industry is primed for a pendulum swing from B2C to B2B solutions.
“The last few years have underscored technology’s tremendous potential to improve how we engage with and deliver healthcare. At the same time, accelerated innovation in consumer-facing areas, such as telehealth, has highlighted the essential role backend technologies play in delivering a more seamless patient experience, and created even more opportunity for brands focused on modernizing healthcare’s infrastructure,” said Jamie Rismiller, executive vice president, Allison+Partners Health. “Our work is driven by the desire to deeply understand the businesses we serve and the environments in which they operate. Recognizing these industry shifts and how they influence our communications and storytelling efforts is critical to crafting a brand narrative that can gain attention and have lasting resonance.”
Key findings from the research include the following:
- There is increased confidence in the healthcare experience as a result of accelerated technology adoption over the past two years.
- Health tech leaders must be aware of the key barriers to achieving Health 4.0 – an ideal future state in which technology connects our currently fragmented healthcare system —and how to address them.
- The opportunities outweigh the challenges; infrastructure-focused solutions can help achieve the next phase of digital health sooner.
- Backend technologies are the next likely frontier for investors and health tech founders—meaning the B2B sector will be more crowded than ever before.
These findings indicate that to be successful, health tech storytellers must clearly communicate how their company’s technology will continue to further accelerate advancements in the industry as we enter this new, post-pandemic chapter. To help brands tell their stories and communicate real-world value, the Allison+Partners Health practice has launched a new offering. Storylab brings together experts from across the agency to help clients dimensionalize their narratives across multiple verticals and channels in a way that creates relevance and engages key audiences.
“Our research showed that health tech leaders are doubling down on cross-channel storytelling,” said Sarah Natoli, VP of Health Strategy, and Storylab lead. “We are excited to offer our clients a hand-selected team of experts from multiple practices to create relevant editorial calendars that cut across paid, owned, and earned channels. Our Storylab team includes writers, editors, videographers, academics, multicultural marketers, healthcare wonks, tech geeks, data nerds, trend spotters, and pop culture addicts.”
To read the full research report, including implications of this research on marketing and PR professionals, visit https://info.allisonpr.com/healthtechnology.
Methodology
Allison+Partners reviewed a range of reports focused on health tech predictions, including those published by thought leaders at Rock Health, Fast Company, Silicon Valley Bank, and Andressen Horowitz. The team also conducted lengthy stakeholder interviews with venture capitalists, founders, and C-suite executives in the health tech space to inform a larger quantitative survey of 500 U.S. senior leaders at healthcare and health tech companies, across both B2B and consumer, with an annual revenue of $10 million or more in 2021. Respondent roles included manager level and above, with more than 20% Vice President, Senior Vice President or Executive Vice President and 20% in the C-suite. The survey was fielded using the Qualtrics Insight Platform and the panel was sourced from Rep Data. Fielding was executed in April and May 2022.
About Allison+Partners
Allison+Partners is a global marketing and communications agency driven by a collaborative approach to innovation and creativity. The firm operates in 34 markets worldwide and is organized around five practices: Consumer Brands, Corporate, Reputation Risk + Public Affairs, Health and Technology. The agency’s Marketing Innovation Team, which combines brand strategy, integrated marketing, creative, research and measurement expertise into one offering, works across these practices to deliver integrated storytelling for clients. Allison+Partners is owned by Stagwell, one of the fastest growing and most influential marketing and communications networks in the world. Agency partners leverage Stagwell’s technology, data analytics, insights and strategic consulting solutions to drive measurable results and optimize return on marketing investment for more than 1,700 clients worldwide. For more information, visit www.allisonpr.com.