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Of the titlesets profiled in MM+M’s ongoing State of… series, chief communications officers are perhaps the most familiar to us as journalists.

For medical marketing agencies, chief communications officers serve a key function as messengers for the brand — both internally and externally.

They are the leaders tasked with providing clear, timely communications in an industry where trustworthy messaging to stakeholders is paramount. These leaders are responsible for ensuring that communications have a positive impact on public health and boost the organization’s reputation.

Payton Green, global communications lead for Havas Health and Creative Networks, describes her role as ensuring the world knows about the agency, its purpose and the thought leadership produced by its C-suite. 

Considering the neckbreaking speed and spread of information in the modern age, that has shifted the role from being reactionary to proactive to ensure the message is landing with its intended audiences.

“Now, you have to be more proactive and less reactive on comms than ever before,” she says. “Because there are bots, there’s ChatGPT, there are so many things out there that can spin a story. It’s always on my mind.”

Core comms function

Medical marketing chief communications officers interviewed for this piece repeatedly emphasized that the role is highly dynamic and multifaceted. 

Contrary to popular belief, a chief communications officer’s job is more than just creating and issuing press releases. 

By effectively wielding the comms levers at their disposal, they are in a position to help shape market perceptions of an agency, amplify content across multiple channels, promote sustainability efforts and take a more integrated approach to stakeholder engagement.

Amanda Sellers, president of communications at Deerfield Group, attributes the appeal of the job to its constant variety in terms of roles and perspectives.

When agency leadership is making a decision, she sees her role as bringing those varied voices into the conversation and ensuring the C-suite is considering all of those stakeholder views before it proceeds.

She adds that internal communications remains a critical but evolving function for comms chiefs, especially in service organizations where people are the product.

“I see my voice as like the voice of the client in some cases, the voice of the employee in some cases and the voice of the market,” she says. 

Strategic voice within the C-suite

The job of a chief communications officer has fundamentally shifted from traditional roles like crisis management and marketing support to a more strategic function that directly supports the business. 

While managing the company’s reputation is a core component of the role, the chief communications officer must also focus on understanding and addressing patient insights. 

This means segmenting audiences, understanding their unique needs and communicating in ways that drive action.

Sellers says the role has evolved to be less of a silo of just communication and more of a business partner for the executive team.

Describing the role as akin to a “strategic trust architect,” she adds that new challenges and opportunities arise regularly, which empowers her to give her all for the job since there’s an innate ability for health communications to have a major impact on someone’s life.

Green echoes that sentiment, saying that she works with every department within the business and gains a greater understanding of the stories that can be shared with the company’s stakeholders.

Ruder Finn CEO Kathy Bloomgarden takes it a step further by outlining how the rest of the C-suite views the comms lead. 

She says the chief communications officer is expected to deliver business value and support organizational goals, not just manage reputation or create content.

“It’s evolving to a more important role and if they can seize it, they have the opportunity to play a much more important role in the overall business,” she says. “It’s up to [chief communications officers] to push the boundaries.”

She adds that there is a need to redefine communications activities and KPIs to demonstrate how communications contribute to business outcomes, especially as these departments face budgets constraints and increased pressure.

AI elevates comms

In the face of limited resources, AI has emerged as a welcome tool for comms professionals.

AI is already being leveraged by this cohort for both efficiency, like content creation and freeing up time for strategic work, as well as innovation through predictive message testing. 

Wendy Carhart, chief communications, culture and purpose officer at Real Chemistry, says the future of the role will require even greater agility, data-driven planning and comfort with rapidly evolving technology — especially AI.

Whereas other medical marketing leadership posts may view AI with some trepidation or outright concern, Carhart sees the ascendant technology as a boost to the human-led work already underway.

“The expertise that these roles bring to the C-suite can’t be replaced with AI. I see it as another tool to help us do that job even better,” she says. 

In the context of increasing automation, Carhart says she wants to focus on developing the next generation of communications professionals to embrace these tools.

She adds that she is most excited about the prospect of AI supporting the agency’s predictive analytics capabilities, noting that Real Chemistry is experimenting with the use of AI to anticipate audience reactions.

State of solidarity

In terms of assessing the state of this particular titleset, the consensus view is that comms chiefs are resilient.

Career paths to the role are often non-linear, so it attracts individuals with diverse experiences across functions and industries. 

Having those varied backgrounds and key soft skills like curiosity, adaptability and passion tend to make the best chief communications officers — especially at a time when their work is becoming more complicated by the day.

The profiled leaders say volatility related to change in the media landscape, technology and trust in health brands are likely to intensify in the coming years.

They all embrace the challenge of what’s coming down the pike and their ability to contribute to the direction of the C-suite, but also recognize the need for these leaders to build peer communities for support and learning.

The state of the position may be promising and influential, but Green asks a more direct question about the state of her fellow comms leads.

“How are they doing emotionally?” Green asks. “We have such a nuanced job as chief comms officers and the comms teams in general. While we’re in advertising and communications, most people in our industry do not understand this role or this department and what we do.”