Megan K. Mulholland

Speak their language (not yours). I usually ask myself this question when reviewing customer-facing materials: what is my gut reaction? What do I see first? The consumer reactions below are what I might consider those “gut reactions.” Pun intended.

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Doritos launched its Super Bowl campaign once again because the metrics proved it was a hit and it’s a working marketing mechanism for the brand. It started this back in 2006 before the creator culture really took off- which could mean more submissions, more creativity and more creativity. For me, I love this because it’s so different from my corporate day to day. Let the Super Bowl ad campaign season begin! #marketing #campaign #ads

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Marketers: If you're concerned your campaign is off-brand...it probably is. Surely you've seen this in the wild... 😑 The voice doesn't match the audience. 🙅‍♀️ The topic has little to do with the brand's personality. 😬 The campaign has a cringey, off-base, or unexpected tone. Imagine, "Check your monthly Medicare statement, no cap." If you don't speak up, you'll be experiencing this: 🤦‍♀️ See something, say something. Keep your hard work on-brand! ⚡ #onbrand #branding #marketing #marketingcommunications #marketingcampaign #brand

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As it's #FertilityAwarenessWeek, thought I would share this post from Gaia on something I so wish I had done when I was younger: FREEZE MY EGGS. Of course the benefits of egg freezing from a career point of view are clear, but the most important one for me is simply wanting to have a family, and improving your chances of success at that later in life. Nobody talked about fertility awareness at school. There was never any awareness comms from my GP/NHS service. When I was in my 30s, the only people freezing their eggs were very rich businesswomen or A-Listers – so it seemed completely inaccessible to me. I know I am incredibly lucky that I managed to get pregnant naturally at 42, with a 0.0-something ovarian count. My son is a little miracle, and the best thing I have ever done. But it took YEARS of trying and failing to get there. Including failed IVF and natural miscarriages (plural) - because my older eggs just weren't viable enough. There was a lot of anguish and a lot of pain that I potentially could have saved myself (and my husband) from IF ONLY I HAD FRZOEN MY EGGS. If I'd had those younger eggs on ice, retrieved from my body when i was still around 35 or younger, then my experience might have been much easier. The sad reality is a woman's fertility falls steeply from about 35-36 onwards and by the time you're 40 it's fallen off a damn cliff edge, and your precious 'ovarian reserve' is down to the scraps. I'm proof that sometimes you can get pregnant if you keep trying. You only need one good egg. But it shouldn't be that hard. Gaia now offer affordable egg freezing for a fraction of the cost - and no doubt this pilot will be here in the UK soon too. Ladies, if you think you might want to be a parent in the future, I urge you to look into this and protect your fertility health while you still have some control over it. Thanks for reading! #fertility #women #fertilityhealth #eggfreezing

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Please join me on May 2nd at 3pm Learn how you can incorporate generative AI and its applications in healthcare marketing.  In association with the NJ Ad Club we are excited for you to learn from Live Case Studies - Objectives, Tactics & Results.  Explore how generative AI was employed to enhance branding, messaging, and imagery for each client. I hope you can join us! Link to registration in comments. #njadclub #marketing #healthcare #medicaldevice #AI

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Your team’s ability to deliver what they promised plummets from 100% to 50%. What do you do? ⚠️ At the airport this morning I saw a Starbucks team deal with this exact situation when one of their ovens stopped working. 🥴 Within a minute or two, I saw more and more hungry, caffeine-seeking travelers pool around the tiny cafe. Many of the 30+ people were looking for their mobile orders…which wouldn’t materialize for at least 10 minutes later than expected. And then I witnessed a masterclass communication from the staff. Manager: “Hi everyone, one of our ovens has suddenly stopped working. Currently we can only warm two items as a time.” 👉Stated the situation and the why behind the delay. “We apologize for the delay—we wish we could get food out faster for you. We’re are doing our best to get your orders completed as quickly we we can.” 👉Used empathy and apologized for the inconvenience. “If you’ve ordered pastries or loaves that you don’t want warmed, please come to the counter and tell us. We’ll be able to get you what you ordered much faster.” 👉Offered an interim solution. 🔁 Rinse and repeat every 5 minutes when there’s an influx of food orders. 👉Consistently shared and reiterated the message. All the while, the rest of the staff were calm, friendly, and focused. 👉Ensured the team was aware and supported to do their part. What could have been a hangry mob of 50 ended up being a well-informed, only slightly frustrated, group of travelers. Clear, consistent, and empathetic communication is the antitodote to nearly every issue, big or small. ☕️ #communication #crisiscomms #comms #leadership

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I'm super excited to announce the launch of Healing After Birth Podcast (season one) and blog from my company Fourth Phase Afterbirth Care Box. As a maternal health advocate and co-founder of Fourth Phase, empowering mothers is the Why my co-founder and I return to for each decision. As former editors at women's magazines, this is a space we've always been passionate about. Our journey with Fourth Phase has made us realize that as editors, we fell short in one critical area: honestly preparing expectant and new moms for the challenges of the Fourth Trimester experience. In 2021, we launched a petition to get the words Fourth Trimester into the dictionary to make a distinction between the Postpartum--which includes a wide range of emotional and hormonal imbalances--and the Fourth Trimester, which is the entire experience after birth. We're proud to have played a role in getting Webster's Dictionary to recognize the term (we're still seeking this recognition from Oxford and Dictionary.com). Now, we're taking our mission to normalize Fourth-Trimester care to the next level with www.HealingAfterBirth.com, our new podcast and blog dedicated to normalizing Fourth Trimester Care. Our vision? We want new moms to thrive, not just survive, during this critical period. What you can expect from our new content hub: -Maternal Health News: Get the latest updates on maternal health policy, product safety, and medical research. -Ancient Healing Modalities: We respect both, and want moms to rediscover ancient wisdom that supports postpartum well-being from a cultural perspective. -Real Stories: Real moms share how they navigated the ups and downs of birth and life after birth. -Postpartum Recipes: Nourish your body with healthy, easy-to-make recipes designed specifically for new moms. -Postpartum Pro Directory: Connect with culturally sensitive experts for mental health therapy, lactation consulting, pelvic floor therapy, postpartum nutrition, and find BIPOC-friendly birthing centers. Join us in our mission to normalize Fourth Trimester Care and support new moms in their journey toward healing and thriving. Follow us for updates, resources, and community support! hashtag #HealingAfterBirth #FourthTrimesterCare #NewMomSupport #PostpartumResources

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Insightful take from Digiday including Josh Walsh from BranchLab on the potential challenges ahead for pharmaceutical advertisers. As RFK Jr. steps into a pivotal role at HHS, there will likely be increased focus on data privacy at the federal level that could reshape the industry's approach to targeted advertising. State-level frameworks like Washington's My Health My Data Act are setting the stage for sweeping national changes. BranchLab was created to help advertisers stay ahead of this shift. It's time to reimagine privacy-first strategies. Preparing today means thriving tomorrow. Time to adapt and innovate! 🚀

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I learned two things from working in PR agencies: 1. Care for yourself first because your employers can't - and most won't. 2. I get my work fullfilment from sharing stories that can change the world! This opinion article (aka oped) is exactly why we are building Newsary to power the world with all stories worth sharing. Because of what this oped is NOT... It is not generated by AI or written by an intern! This oped is written by Nikki Williams, with guidance from our journalist-trained AI, myself, and Stephanie Palmer-Derrien. Our learnings will help further train our AI. This oped is also worth reading, BTW! This oped was pitched using Newsary, which allowed me to quickly summarise the oped and successfully pitch the story to Eloise Keating (after a round of extensive edits 😅 - thanks again for your patience!) Again, the pitch is NOT written by AI but guided by AI, which takes the guesswork out of the structure or what info to include. Unlike other gen-AI, Newsary ensures information accuracy because all info comes from you and allows you to focus on the story media fit and my knowledge of the journalist/publication you're pitching to. As story sharers, this is a shot at earning the attention you need to change the world. For journalists, this will very soon change the way you find and connect with sources and stories - no more death by irrelevant and overly promotional press releases. As a PR person, this enables me to pitch more and more diverse stories from founders who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford a PR agency! You have to give yourself a stance to stand out. Newsary helps you find your story, voice it in your own words, and frame it in most media-friendly format. Next, we'll index it so it can be found by relevant media on our story and source search engine. Changing the world, your story at a time. 📣 #publicrelations #startup #startupgrowth #mediarelations P.S. Did I mention this oped is worth reading? And Mentwell story's worth following!

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Founders: Got a launch coming up? Here are the timings you need to know about for a PR pro to help get the word out. 📺 Exclusive news: 3+ weeks of embargoed media pitching 💰 Funding announcements: Minimum of 2 weeks of pitching ⚡ New product/feature announcements: Minimum of 3 weeks pitching 🎉 Events: depending on the scale of the event - up to 6+ weeks in advance And that's JUST for the pitching to media/influencers - which is all hyper-personalised. We still need time to write the press release, get sign-off, and source killer visuals to tell the story. Don't screw it up with insufficient lead times to get the best results. The earlier you bring in a PR expert, the better.

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Auvelity: A Brand Name Illuminating a Path to Mental Wellness Brand Acumen's expertise in crafting impactful names is beautifully exemplified by "Auvelity," a newly approved name created for Axsome Therapeutics The name Auvelity gracefully combines "au" with "velity." "Au" (Chemical symbol for "Gold" as in "The Gold Standard of Treatment") is a symbol of quality and excellence, while "velity" hints at velocity and movement. Together, they form a name that suggests a journey towards higher quality and betterment, beautifully reflecting the therapeutic purpose of the medicine; that of a treating adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) Associations of Brightness and Progress: Auvelity carries associations of brightness, elevation, and progress. "Au" is reminiscent of gold, often symbolizing excellence and preciousness. This resonates with the idea of elevating mental health and achieving well-being, connecting the name with the concept of progress and improvement. Linguistic Balance and Harmony: Auvelity achieves a harmonious linguistic balance through its elegant combination of syllables. The interplay of "au" and "velity" creates a name that possess a musical, lyrical quality that is sophisticated and approachable, offering a sense of reassurance to patients seeking relief. A Beacon of Hope in Mental Health: Auvelity, developed by Axsome Therapeutics, is a prescription oral medicine designed to treat adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). It symbolizes more than just a treatment; it embodies hope and progress for individuals navigating the complexities of mental health challenges. In the name Auvelity, the name is more than a mere identifier; it's a catalyst for positive change. The name encapsulates the journey of those seeking relief from major depressive disorder, offering a symbol of excellence, progress, and transformation. Auvelity is not just a name; it's a promise of support, hope, and a brighter future for individuals on the path to mental wellness. #naming #names #brandacumen #regulatoryaffairs #medicalaffairs #drugspharmaceuticals #fda #fdaapproval #pharmaceuticals #pharmaceuticalmarketing #pharmaceuticalindustry #healthcareindustry #medicalmarketing #brandacumen #depression #naming #newproductlaunch

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Painful PR truth: Tons of interesting, newsworthy, relevant, timely, deeply researched, and tightly pitched stories still don’t get published. It stinks, and it happens every dang day. Sometimes multiple times per day.😭 Why?: Because for every reporter, there’s 25+ PR folks pitching at any one time (and now probably way more with AI). Newsrooms across print, broadcast and yes online too have been decimated over the past 25 years and so have reporter and editor jobs along with it. Sure, tons of pitches are yawn inducing commodity 💩 that barely gets a skim, but that still leaves oodles of high quality stories getting the 👻 because, well, competitive math, overloaded inboxes, breaking news, beat changes, layoffs, vacations, family and life stuff. How do you respond?: ⬇ —Never rely on traditional media relations (especially Tier 1) as your primary distribution and brand building avenue, even if you have a sweet scoop. - Meaningfully and consistently invest in your own content and distribution channels including social, newsletters, podcasts, blogs, email list, events, employee ambassadors, etc.) These should often get more attention than traditional media relations. —Don’t get defensive when busy/stressed reporters miss your email or pass. Polite persistence and feedback are fine, badgering is not. Be a good sport and they’ll be more likely to engage with your pitch next time. -Bylined article submissions, especially to trades. -Speech or panel at industry event, or your own. -External podcast appearance. -Influencer deployment (paid or organic). -Distro’d press release or advotorial (notice where I prioritized in this list). 😏 Conclusion: Media relations is NOT dying and still uber important, but the competition is only getting tougher and we all need to be evangelists for this unsexy reality.

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Great example of why the industry needs to move away from turn-key, templatized patient recruitment approaches. No brand team would put out ads like this and expect them to drive engagement and desired actions for a product. If we're speaking to the same patient populations, why then do we expect this approach to achieve engagement and desired actions for a clinical trial? #clinicaltrialrecruitment #patientrecruitment

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I was reading today’s Out-Of-Pocket newsletter (which is really good, by the way), and it got me thinking about hiring in health tech and how we improve the process around that. When I interview folks for a marketing role, I ask why they are interested in the company, and often I’ll get “Because I really align with the mission” or “Company X is helping improve access to care for people.” And with that answer, I continue on with my barrage of questions, satisfied with their response. Box, checked. But what does that mean, really? Every solution being solved by a health tech company has a negative trade off somewhere. Using the access to care example, if more people can access care…. 🤔Do you then need to hire more doctors to see them, which increases costs that get passed on to patients? 🤔Or, do doctors just have to see more patients faster, which puts more stress on the physician and less attention paid to the patient? For mission-driven job applicants, it’s worth understanding what tradeoffs they are okay with, because there will ALWAYS be one. It’s better to lose that candidate now than later if they aren’t in the same page about what your definition of “improving healthcare” is. Or, you just might find that for the right comp package, they might be willing to accept a mission they aren’t 100% aligned with. But at least everyone’s cards are out on the table and going in with eyes wide open. At the end of the day, health tech is a business, period. They have to make money to survive. Make sure candidates are comfortable with the tough business decisions your company may need to make in order to stay afloat.

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As a brand builder, I see enough human insights in this story to satisfy the biggest appetites! If you don’t have time to read it, the central premise is that losing weight throws us into self-loathing. We feel we need to do penance for our gluttony. That, despite exhaustive studies that the food industry is laser focused on feeding us ultra-processed foods that drive more hunger. We hate ourselves for our weakness, instead of mobilizing against an industry that fuels that weakness. The whole, unprocessed food industry could take variations on this theme to the bank. Thoughts, Ed Low Craig Hermanson Rasool Rayani? #brandstrategy #brandinsights #brandsinvestorslove

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I had a blast talking about all things quality, compliance, and Qualitas Executive Group with Rachel Brown, the Editor-in-Chief of Beauty Independent! We did a deep dive into... -MoCRA -Amazon -Co-mans -Product testing -Recall insurance -Facility certifications -Beauty industry quality issues -FDA and Federal Trade Commission compliance -AI tools and platforms like Factored Quality from Prince Ghosh and team Book time with Carly Tolman or I to see how we can help protect and guide you through MoCRA, quality management, marketing compliance, and anything in between! 👀 Check out the article below 👀 #quality #compliance #cosmetics #beautyindustry #manufacturing #contractmanufacturing #testing #amazon #fda #ftc #supplychain #regulatoryaffairs #consulting

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Syracuse, New York has 253,108 likely hip or knee patients. We know this thanks to our consumer data. It’s smart. It's collected ethically (with permission and opt-in). And gives insights into people's lives - who they are and what they do, from both offline and online perspectives. We build personas of people's attributes and behaviors: Ages, lifestyles, sports they enjoy, activities they engage in, purchase patterns, app download/usage and more. For example, we know that likely total joint patients are: over the age of 50, have active lifestyles (including golf, tennis, yoga, pickleball, etc.) and about 12 other demographic and psychographic data points... We link our persona to a geography, like 30 miles around Syracuse, and  *Cha-CHING* we have our audience: these 253,108 individuals. We serve ads just to these people in our audience, directly on their devices and in the places online where they already go, promoting you and your solution to their problem. THESE PEOPLE NEVER SEARCH TO SEE YOUR AD. Why is this important? ➡️ Because when you put yourself directly  in front of your most-likely audience,  you will influence their behavior. This exact total-joint strategy generated 859 NEW patients for one group this year (Jan-May). Question for you, Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, PC Upstate Orthopedics St. Joseph's Health How are you getting the attention of these people? You can't maintain market share without being strategic and proactive. If you have: ✅ the desire to increase procedure volume, ✅ the process to convert traffic to patient visits, ✅ the ability to see value in this strategy,  we should chat. #Syracuse #NewYork #hip #tha #knee #tka #data #healthconsumers #DTC #patientacquisition #healthcareDTC

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I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: I’m stepping into a new role as Head of Therapy and Growth at Spinoza. This role feels like the merging of two worlds—my corporate background and my growing dedication to helping people find greater well-being. At Spinoza, we’ve already guided over 2,000 individuals through transformative psychedelic experiences. These journeys have helped people reconnect with themselves, others, and nature. By integrating modern psychology, ancient philosophy, and the unique potential of psychedelics, we aim to create a future where therapy is not just about alleviating symptoms but is also transformative, holistic, and deeply human. Our approach is inspired by Therapeia, the ancient Greek concept of tending to the soul. The word therapeia comes from therapeuo (θεραπεύω), which means “to serve” or “to attend to.” For the ancient Greeks, therapy wasn’t just about treating symptoms—it was about honoring the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit. And isn’t the latter—spirit—what so many of us are missing in today’s fast-paced society? Spinoza’s mission is simple yet profound: to reconnect people with nature and accelerate the transition to natural medicine. As we step into this new chapter, I’m excited to work on creating therapy models that make these tools not only accessible but also meaningful and safe for those who choose to explore them. That said, psychedelics aren’t for everyone. And that’s okay. What’s important is making sure therapists and psychologists have the knowledge and tools to assess whether a psychedelic journey is the right fit for someone’s therapy—or if it’s not. If any of this resonates with you, I’d love to connect. Let’s talk about psychedelics, therapy, and all the ways we can create opportunities for growth. Feel free to schedule a chat with me here: https://lnkd.in/gpiciWcM And if you host a podcast or know someone who does, I’d happily join to share more about my work, Spinoza’s mission, and the vision we’re building. Let’s keep this conversation going—there’s so much to explore!

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Hey Agency folks, One of our values at Disruptive Thinking that we can help create more equal opportunities for underprivileged parts of our society. One group hidden in plain sight are women in work - Most women experience at least four reproductive health conditions that will directly impact or end their careers. Sophie Creese, Nick Dean and Sabrina Walls are making a difference at HeyFlow. They have a forthcoming 'Agency Leadership sessions' starting on Tuesday July 30th, created in response to feedback from agency leaders, particularly within the B Corp community - check it out here: https://lnkd.in/dAptruay The sessions are designed for senior leaders wanting to learn more about reproductive health in the workplace, how it impacts women’s careers and how to combat that within the agency model. The sessions are open to all genders, and will have a mix of agency leaders on the calls. They recently produced a Male Allyship project in association with BIMA, with many agency leaders saying: - They want to do something, but they need a starting point. - They want to do something, but budgets are tight. - They want to do something, but they aren’t ready for the whole company to do something. - They want to do something, but in smaller groups. This is their solution. Please, please check it out: https://lnkd.in/dAptruay

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