Healthcare communications agency Havas Lynx is launching a global healthcare influencer offering to drive health outcomes and behavior change. 

The initiative, led by Medical Director Dr. Tapas Mukherjee and Head of Patient Voice Matt Eagles, is part of Havas’ new Converged strategy and integrated operating model.

The agency’s move to bring influencer marketing in-house combines creative and media expertise to create omnichannel strategies co-developed with healthcare professionals and patients. 

The offering includes over 50 healthcare influencers across 14 therapy areas. It covers content creation on platforms such as TikTok, X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, as well as podcast hosting.

This launch follows Havas Lynx’s release of Point.1, a proprietary data offering comprehensive information on global physicians. According to Point.1 data:

• 98% of healthcare professionals (HCPs) globally are influenced by earned media during their prescription journey
• 86% more HCPs highly trust earned media compared to pharma-owned touchpoints
• 54% of HCPs report increasing consumption of earned media

The agency’s research indicates a significant shift towards earned media, particularly among millennial HCPs, who now represent the largest prescribing audience. Only 19% of millennial HCPs trust branded pharma websites.

Havas Lynx’s offering includes influencer marketing solutions for healthcare and pharmaceutical brands in areas such as clinical trial recruitment and disease awareness. The agency employs HCP-to-HCP, HCP-to-Patient, and Patient-to-Patient strategies to tailor communications for specific campaign objectives.

The agency has already implemented global influencer marketing campaigns for clients, including Arena, Novartis, and Teva. These campaigns have utilized healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and macro-influencers to raise awareness and educate on various health topics.

“We have a dedicated team of specialists who understand the nuances and complexities of the healthcare sector and can create influencer marketing campaigns that are ethical, compliant, and, most importantly, effective,” Havas Lynx CEO Claire Knapp said in a news release.

Havas Lynx offers prospective clients a free training session on healthcare influencer marketing, including regulatory considerations.

A recent report exposed a concerning trend of health and wellness influencers using AI tools such as ChatGPT to create social media captions and reel scripts. This accidentally led to the proliferation of inaccurate and misleading health claims and information, thus raising concerns about the accuracy of social media health advice. 

In response, various agencies, such as Ogilvy, rolled out a business line that taps into the world of online health influencers to help pharmaceutical companies connect with consumers and counter bogus medical information circulating on social media.