Ogilvy launches health influencer marketing offering

Ogilvy has launched a health-first suite of global influencer marketing services called Health Influence.  

Health Influence’s offering is a combination of Ogilvy PR’s global influencer team with experts from Ogilvy Health. The portfolio of services is designed to bridge the gap between medical expertise and public awareness by providing pharmaceutical, healthcare and wellness brands access to the influencer economy at a specialist level, the agency said in a statement. 

The new services are a result of an increasing number of patient and healthcare provider communities relying on social media platforms for health information. In recent data from Ogilvy Research and Intelligence, 70% of people reported following or seeking out health-related social media accounts or have learned about health or medical issues from social media accounts.  

The Caravan survey, conducted by Big Village, sampled 1,008 adults 18 years of age or older from April 17-19. 

Of those who are engaged with health-related social media accounts, 92% cited a positive impact and 47% reported health-related social media accounts have made it easier to learn about health conditions.  

The new offering is being led by Ogilvy PR global head of influence Rahul Titus and Ogilvy Health U.K. and EMEA chief executive Caroline Howe.

Other members of the global team involved in the new offer include president of PR for North America Shannon Walsh, Ogilvy Health EVP Michael DiSalvo and North America head of influencer marketing Ansley Williams in the U.S.; head of social media Rebecca Carter and U.K. influence lead Imogen Coles in the U.K.; and EMEA head of influence John Harding-Easson, strategist Stephanie Chua and head of influence James Baldwin in Asia.

Services range from strategic guidance on engaging with influencers at brand, therapeutic and corporate levels to influencer identification, vetting and campaign activation. 

Ogilvy parent company WPP reported 2.4% growth in revenue in its PR division in Q4 of 2023. The holding company noted that Hill & Knowlton “delivered modest growth lapping strong performance in 2022,” which was “partially offset by a weaker year for BCW.” The holding company plans to publish its Q1 earnings on Thursday.