Jack Health Blog
July 8th, 2025 By Jeff Erin
Experiential. Healthcare. That’s a specific niche for a creative. I’m consumed by it these days, but like many in my position, it’s not where I started. I came in through the side door from traditional advertising after years of working with clients in almost every industry. So, when someone asks a basic question like what healthcare work most inspired me over the years, my perspective is not shockingly more scrutinizing than it once was.
At any major award show, you’ll notice that some of the most beautiful and emotional work comes from the healthcare space—rich patient-centric storytelling and experiences with real, lasting substance. That’s the kind of work that drew me into this world. But since immersing myself in it, I’ve grown to look past the epic emotional efforts for inspiration and admire those that succeed in tackling the challenges of healthcare’s complex messaging, audiences, and processes, as well as meet KPIs beyond just “raise awareness.”
More than ever, we’re seeing experiential play a more powerful, but also more specific role in a healthcare brand’s marketing mix. The stakes are higher, budgets tighter, and objectives more nuanced. The unyielding acceleration of technology will only amplify those trends in the future. So, might as well listen to the advice of Einstein’s seemingly timeless mind and “know the future by looking at the past.” Here I’m highlighting three efforts that still inspire me “from the inside.”
CVS: The Last Pack for its behavior-changing courage.
It’s a beautiful thing to witness a brand’s activation do exactly what it was intended to do, first-hand. Ten years ago, a good friend of mine was trying to quit smoking, and while I’m not going to give CVS all the credit, it was definitely a part of his journey in overcoming the daunting challenge of kicking the habit. To me, it was the most impactful element of the CVS “We Quit” initiative. Not just the message and the physical execution, but how it connected a brand’s business risk with a smoker’s personal battle in such a simple way: We’re ending our relationship with tobacco, so can you. CVS gave up $2 billion in tobacco sales to back their message, and my buddy was one of the half-million smokers who took them up on their pharmacy consultation—and quit for good.
NHSBT: Missing Type for it’s surgically simple call-to-action.
As someone who didn’t even know his own blood type until a few years ago, this one resonated with me the first time I saw the case study. While not an experiential effort, it still prompted the public to feel and act.
The NHSBT removed the letters A, B, and O from signs and logos across the UK to highlight the need for blood donors. As if infiltrating a country’s passive consciousness, it was instantly understandable and prompted widespread action. It sparked a specific response without over-explaining.
Teva: Be Moved by TD for seamlessly informing and inspiring.
This one hits me because it perfectly walks a line that is endlessly challenging in healthcare—informing HCPs about something they may be overlooking, without coming on too strong.
Tardive Dyskinesia is easily misdiagnosed as a side-effect from mental health medication. Teva handed doctors a stylus that mimicked the tremors patients feel when trying to sign their own name. No promotional literature or demo video, they simply asked them to pick it up and try to write. It was tight, smart, and perfect to break through at a crowded conference. And did it all on a 125k budget.
A former creative director of mine once used a puzzle analogy “Stop doing the edge pieces first” when he felt my idea was good but “too strategic.” Maybe he was an idiot. Maybe it’s that we were working on an energy drink. Either way, working in experiential healthcare, I’ve realized more than ever how antiquated that perspective has become (and how much I love the edge pieces). Maybe there are still 10-puzzle-piece creative briefs out there, simple enough to start… wherever. But the closer you get to the work, the more impressed you are when you see 1,000 pieces come together beautifully.
Jack Health is an award-winning global experiential agency that combines specialty expertise with world-class creative and brand experience chops to deliver the most talked-about brand experiences in healthcare. Check out our capabilities and the breadth of our work in areas such as meetings and events, congresses and trade shows, experience content and comms, and brand and sponsorship activations.