Culture as Care: How Creativity, Community, and Collaboration Are Transforming Health
At Cannes Lions this year, the World Women’s Foundations brought together industry leaders for the Culture as Care: Embedding Health Where It Lives panel. Leaders from across healthcare, media, and strategy came together to challenge a long-standing industry norm: that brands should wait until people become patients to engage them. Moderated by Emily Seal of Clio Health, the conversation brought together Denise Campbell of Novartis, Amiyra Perkins of Pinterest, and Elle McComsey, Chief Strategy Officer at Digitas Health, each sharing a distinct perspective on how health can shift from interrupting peoples lives to becoming part of their day-to-day lives.
Novartis brought a real-world perspective on how to turn cultural strategy into action. Denise Campbell highlighted how the brand is stepping beyond traditional healthcare spaces to meet people in moments that already matter—like its NFL partnership, which embedded a health behavior into an existing ritual rather than forcing a message. Complementing this, Amiyra Perkins shared how Pinterest offers an early view into emerging wellness behaviors, revealing what people are curious about and planning long before they speak to a doctor. Together, these perspectives reinforced a core theme: when brands align with culture, health messaging becomes more natural, relevant, and impactful.
From the agency lens, Elle McComsey underscored the broader shift redefining healthcare marketing. As Chief Strategy Officer at Digitas Health, she emphasized that health is shaped not just by medicine, but by the stories we hear and the communities we’re part of. This evolution creates both an opportunity and a responsibility for brands to show up differently. For Digitas Health, this means that cultural relevance isn’t about trends, it’s about understanding lived experiences and designing communication that feels personal, authentic, and actionable. For brands, that means moving beyond awareness and toward integration, making health a seamless part of everyday life.
Key Takeaways
Health is shaped by culture, community, and everyday experiences as much as by medicine.
Trust grows when healthcare organizations communicate with empathy, authenticity, and cultural understanding.
Creativity plays a critical role in making health information more engaging, accessible, and memorable.
Technology platforms can help deliver trusted health information in the moments when people are actively seeking guidance.
Collaboration between healthcare companies, agencies, and digital platforms creates greater opportunities to improve health literacy and inspire meaningful behavior change.
The future of healthcare communication is centered on meeting people where they are and making health part of everyday life rather than an occasional conversation.
The panels main point was simple: healthcare brands can’t wait to show up only when people need care. They need to be part of the mundane, showing up in ways that feel natural and relevant. When they do, health becomes something people engage with every day, not just when something is wrong.
To read the full article by the World Women’s Foundation, click here.