This summer, in an undisclosed location (a conference room) nestled in the centre of a thriving metropolis (London), the MediPaCe team got together to create a communications plan that will enable us to share all our exciting projects with the wider world. There were flipcharts. There were snacks. There was the combined experience of a dynamic, fun and super-smart group of colleagues. We uncapped our chisel-tip markers, and we were away!
Our team is made up of scientists, patient involvement practitioners, researchers and strategists, and it’s this breadth of expertise that gives us a panoramic perspective on our sector; it allows us to offer valuable insight to clients, to patients, to healthcare professionals and to those whose journey with patient involvement is just beginning. Everyone in the team works remotely, so when we meet up, we make the most of it. Anyone who works from home knows the value of getting together with colleagues: how the magic of in-person interaction strengthens bonds and trust. Being together also enabled us to step away from our specific areas of focus for a while and align our thinking as a company; this was essential to thinking cohesively about how we want to proceed in communicating our work.
The starting point for any MediPaCe project is our values. These are at the heart of every decision we make, so our goal was to ensure that our communications plan reflects not only what we do, but who we are. It must be bold and potent, while still maintaining the thoughtfulness and care that goes into all our work.
One of the challenges of the day was to explore how we might engage with a diverse range of stakeholders – including household-name pharmaceutical and medtech clients, solo-run patient organisations, health care providers, rare disease specialists – whilst maintaining a cohesive message.
While working together on this plan, what came up time and again is that the thread tying these many strands together is the respect we show to every single person we encounter by truly engaging with them: seeing them, hearing them and working hard to deliver tailored work to their specifications, to an exceptional standard. We’re in this to help, and to make a difference, and the feeling of creating work that is innovative and can truly drive positive change is what motivates us all. It’s at the centre of everything we do, so it makes sense that it would be at the centre of a communications plan, too.
By the end of the session, we had an abundance of ideas and perspectives and plans, and we’re all excited to sculpt them into an operational strategy that will make everyone aware of the brilliant projects we’re involved in and the fantastic people we’re thrilled we get to work with.
Have no doubt that we’ll report back once the full plan is in place!
